


Night Sky

by gongji



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 12:19:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8401444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gongji/pseuds/gongji
Summary: Before his lord, he had nothing. The memories he’d created with his lord, the feelings that flourished within his heart, the thought of Leo smiling—these were what keep him going, fuel his drive to see the dawn of the next day, gives him the strength to keep on living.And if he had to live quietly beside his lord if he married another, then that is the sacrifice he’d just have to make. For Leo’s future.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluefeatherofhappiness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluefeatherofhappiness/gifts).



The rain outside was heavy and Leo had the misfortune of getting stuck in it.

Cursing his miserable luck, he lets out an audible disgruntled sigh and stands under an empty canopy outside a village store, watching the townspeople flee inside from the rain. He’d gone into a market in one of the outer walls of the city after hearing rumors of a new tome that’d been traded in, and had insisted that his retainer didn’t have to go with him — it wouldn’t be too long if he traveled on horseback, and he needed some fresh air anyway. And now, here he was, all by himself, partially wet with the cooling rain, his horse waiting for him all the way at the entrance of the town. He didn’t even make it to the merchant with the rumored tome, and at this rate he wasn’t going to with all the market stands frantically scrambling to pack up in the steady rain.

Leo groans — this was what he got for not going to one of the underground markets, he supposes. Royalty like himself should not be traveling this far out without retainers, or at least some other person just in case, but he was so sure he’d be fine, and it wasn’t like he’d been put in any danger. But now here he was, Prince Leo, Second Prince of Nohr, defeated by rain… He supposes it has to stop sometime, and maybe he could wait it out.

But how long would that be? It could be hours! It could rain all through the night and into the morning! He didn’t even know what time it was, the dark rain clouds turning the already chillingly ashen day frighteningly dark. His stomach growled. He crosses his arms over himself for warmth. Lightning strikes somewhere in the distance and startles him. This was terrible.

He stands there watching the townspeople for some undetermined amount of time, watching the way some hold books and towels and papers over their heads as they run, and some don’t even try to cover themselves as they try to make it back home. Others have the same idea as he does, planning to wait out the rain in other coverings and canopies in the street. Leo sighs again, leaning against the wall, gaze now settling on the way the rain creates large droplets that splash and ripple in a puddle on the ground. He sighs - a third time - in frustration, when the streets all but clear out, and only he and a few other scattered townspeople here and there are left waiting out the rain.

He’s so concentrated on sulking under his shadowed canopy he almost doesn’t hear the steady clopping of horse hooves in the sopping cobblestone, heavy steps in puddles and mud. When it draws his attention, he squints into the distance — in the escalating rainfall he can just barely make out the silhouette of a person with an umbrella in one hand, leading a horse by the reigns in the other. As the figure draws closer, Leo realizes he recognizes the horse, and then the umbrella, and then finally, the familiar smirk of his retainer comes into view.

“Nice weather, isn’t it?” Niles leads his horse over to the chilly canopy where Leo scowls from his discomfort. “Milord picked a great day to run off by himself.”

“I didn’t run off, I just went looking for something,” Leo huffs, taking the umbrella from Niles and allowing him to drape a small blanket over his shoulders. Leo wraps it around himself tightly. Niles wipes off the horse’s saddle, placing a dry towel over it to soak up the remaining water, and turns to his lord to help him get on.

“Ready to go back?” He asks, offering to help Leo up on his horse. Leo nods, attempting to suppress a sneeze. He shivers instead.

“Thank you, Niles,” he says once he’s firmly seated on his horse, opening up the umbrella back up again to hold over himself. “You always seem to know when I need you, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Stand there freezing for a while longer, I suppose,” Niles chuckles, opening the second umbrella that was tucked under his arm and starting to walk beside Leo’s horse. “The rain is predicted to last until early morning.”

Leo masks a whine with a sophisticated, acknowledging grunt. “I just want to get back and run a hot bath. I didn’t think the temperature would drop this much.”

Niles lets out a short laugh. Here they were, engaging in the ultimate small talk topic: the weather. And Niles didn’t seem to mind. Leo looks down at his retainer.

“Are you going to walk beside me all the way?”

“Is milord suggesting I fly beside him instead?”

“Ugh. Niles, just climb on.” He stops his horse’s movement and holds out his hand. “We’ll get home a lot faster. You came out all this way to help me, the very least I can do is offer you a ride back.”

A smile. “Milord is kind.” Niles takes his hand, a strong grip helping hoist him astride the saddle. “Surely he won’t mind if I hold onto him, then? For support?” He teases. Leo rolls his eyes.

“Don’t push it,” he says, but he is smirking. “Maybe this one time.” With another short chuckle, Niles teasingly hovers his hands over Leo’s waist, as if testing to see if Leo was being serious or not. “Oh come on. We’re going to run back, so hold on.” He grabs Niles’ wrist with his free hand and wraps it around his waist, commanding his horse into a gallop.

Niles wraps both arms around his lord’s waist with a smile.

 

* * *

 

_It was an unusually sunny day in Windmire, and Leo wanted to go for a walk._

_It wasn’t unheard of for the second prince to want to enjoy the weather, and Elise was more than happy to accompany her older brother, frolicking through the sunny rays of light. It was perhaps the young princess’ first time seeing such a bright day. Effie walks alongside Elise, trying to keep up the pace with the happy princess while in her heavy armor._

_What felt a little out of place, though, was that Leo insisted Niles come along. Niles had just barely finished a month after properly becoming Prince Leo’s retainer, and he was feeling a bit awkward. He’d barely held a legitimate conversation with the prince, never sure what to talk about, and now here he was keeping a leisurely pace beside him in silence. Niles wished Leo had just asked a different soldier to come along, and hoped this wasn’t the prince’s attempt to get to know him better. Small talk was not his forte in the slightest, nor did he think he could hold a casual conversation even if he tried._

_In the weeks prior he’d been taken through class after class of etiquette, discipline, and retainer training, and that alone was already enough to make his head spin right off his shoulders. “You’re not trying hard enough, I can’t take you around as my retainer if you cannot behave yourself properly in the court,” Leo had reprimanded him, after he’d failed the classes more times than he cared to count._

_“I’ll have you trained for me eventually, Niles,” Leo followed up, and ah, there was that name again. Niles. Leo had given it to him after some thought when Niles had failed to give him a proper name to go by. In his lack of name, he’d thought Zero would be fitting, but…._

_As far as he was concerned, Zero was dead. But even still, it was difficult to get used to having a new name so suddenly, when every aspect of his new life needed slow adjustment. And now, here he was, walking alongside his lord outdoors in the afternoon sun, a refreshing change of pace after being stuck for weeks in stuffy rooms filled with old books and servants who smacked him with a long ruler whenever he slouched too much in his seat, or used a conjunction in his sentences that didn’t actually exist (how was he supposed to know?)._

_“So, Niles.” Oh no, here it comes. The Small Talk. “How are you enjoying the weather today?”_

_“It’s nice. ...um, milord.” He replies._

_Another silence falls between them._

_“What do you like to do in your spare time?”_

_“Nothing, milord.”_

_“Did you have any hobbies?”_

_“No, milord.”_

_“What’s your favorite food?”_

_“I don’t know, milord.”_

_Another silence. This was starting to get really uncomfortable._

_Leo finally speaks again, “What’s your favorite color?”_

_Gods damn it, Niles didn’t have one of those either. But for the sake of holding conversation, he looks around, and spots Leo’s cape - a deep purple and... inside out. Did he know? Was anyone going to tell him? He clears his throat. “Ah, um. Purple.”_

_His answer earns him a friendly smile from his prince. “I like that color too.”_

_Across the way, a small crowd had gathered, perhaps as Elise’s excited behavior made it known in the town that two of the royal children were passing by, and Niles was all too relieved to get the attention off himself just then. The crowd appears friendly; no one seems to be carrying any weapon, the energy of the crowd excitable and amicable. A few girls waved, and Elise waved back. Niles watches Effie nonetheless step in between the crowd and Elise to distance her from the townsfolk as they walked, just in case, so Niles does the same with Leo, trying to mirror Effie’s actions. His steps fall out of rhythm with Leo’s while he does, and it feels clunky._

_“At ease, Niles,” Leo says with a nod, seeming to appreciate his efforts. “They’re harmless. Effie is just very protective of Elise. No need to do the same for me.” Niles tries to match his footsteps up with Leo’s again._

_As they pass the crowd, a small girl tosses a flower towards Elise. Effie catches it swiftly in one hand, inspects it, and then hands it over to Elise, who laughs and tucks it behind her ear. If another flower was tossed towards Leo’s way, Niles was not about to do the same._

_There’s a shuffle from behind them as the crowd starts to disband. A man from behind the crowd charges forward, knocking over a woman who stood beside him as he breaks into a sprint; in one swift movement he’s brandishing the hidden dagger at his side, immediately running straight for Leo. Several bystanders in the crowd scream as the small blade cuts through the air, thrown immediately in Leo’s direction before he can react._

_But Niles is faster._

_Leo has barely turned around when Niles lunges in between them, so suddenly it could have been a reflex, bow drawn and ready. The dagger hits flesh; he doesn’t even wince when the force of the throw imbeds it into his shoulder - he returns the favor, and shoots the arrow right into the man’s chest. But the arrow doesn’t drive deep enough, only serving to throw the man off balance, and the assassin reaches for another blade strapped to his side. He lunges, once again, as Elise screams behind them all._

_Niles sends another arrow shooting towards him, finally causing the assassin to drop to his knees. Niles yanks the blade from his hands, and uses the momentum to violently slice him through without a moment’s hesitation. A speck of blood manages to land right on Leo’s cheek._

_Niles steps back, catching his breath, dropping the weapon with bloodied hands. He looks back at Leo, with blood splattered on his face, his clothes, his hands... And Leo lifts his thumb to wipe away the spot of blood that had landed on his own cheek. He looks down at the drip of claret cooling in the dry air on his finger as Niles turns around to face him._

_Niles lets out a breath and drops to one knee, the burst of energy he’d expended all his currently untrained body had in him, the pain in his shoulder becoming apparent once the adrenaline wore off. Effie had taken Elise off to the side, away from the violence, so she wouldn’t see the aftermath of the bloodied body in the path behind them._

_Niles looks up at his lord, a line of blood drips down his face._

_“Are you okay, milord?” He asks, when the chaos in the crowd had died down long enough and the bystanders had dispersed._

_“Yes.”_

_“Are you scared, milord?”_

_“No,” Leo answers with a firm gaze, eyes locked onto Niles’, “I’m not scared.” He doesn’t say anything else, reaching out to slowly wrap his hand around the dagger sticking out of Niles’ shoulder. Niles braces himself for what’s coming next; he allows Leo to yank the blade out of his shoulder, wincing through the pain as the sharpness cuts through him again, but says nothing._

_“Niles,” he begins, turning the bloodied blade in his hand in inspection. “I didn’t tell you to kill him.”_

_“It was my first thought,” Niles responds, “You made me your retainer. That means I must protect you.”_

_“I didn’t tell you to kill him,” Leo repeats, voice firm and commanding. “I need you to follow my orders.”_

_“He would have killed you.”_

_“Retainers do not talk back to their lords, Niles.” Leo turns back around and begins to walk again, gracefully spinning the blade by the hilt. “You’d do well to remember that. Come, now. We’re going back. We need to get your shoulder looked at.”_

_Niles gets to his feet and follows. He doesn’t ask why Leo keeps the blade._

 

* * *

 

“You’re getting quite skilled with that bow,” Leo comments one afternoon as he steps towards Niles in the training grounds. His retainer holds the bow steady, and then with careful concentration, he shoots the arrow straight into the center of the target.

“Thank you, milord,” he replies, lowering his bow once his lord was within range.

Leo smirks after a pause, “In all honestly, I didn’t think the bow was going to be right for you.”

“Why is that?” Niles shoots another arrow at his target. It lands just a few inches away from his last.

“I was worried perhaps, with only one eye, it’d be a little...complicated.” Leo rests his hands behind his back, hands together, posture straight and proper. “Depth perception, and all that.” Niles slouches.

“Aw… milord has no faith in his subjects, I see,” Niles teases, and Leo’s smirk fades as he looks back at him, rolling his eyes.

“You know what I mean. I’m commending you for a job well done. You’ve trained hard to get here.”

“I suppose,” Niles chuckles, low and amused, and quickly draws his bow, shooting at an unsuspecting squirrel inspecting a fallen acorn. The arrow lands right beside the nut, startling the squirrel, and Niles watches it scamper off hurriedly.

Leo clicks his tongue in a disapproving sound. “Are you training, or are you just bored?”

Niles hums in response. “Perhaps a bit of both.”

The prince shakes his head, and steps closer to his retainer. “Five in a row. I want to see you hit the same spot in that target five times in a row.”

“Mmm, okay.” As Niles positions himself, arms extending the string until it was taut, aiming carefully with his good eye, he can’t help but feel like he was being watched. Examined. Observed.

It was kind of thrilling to be under such scrutiny, especially by his lord.

He releases his grip. As quickly as the arrow leaves the bow, Niles has another in its place, shooting it immediately, five separate times, and Leo keeps his gaze on him for each one.

“Not bad,” Leo says when he finishes. “Let’s see how you did.” He walks over to the target, hands still relaxed in a cool pose behind his back, inspecting the placement of the arrows and the accuracy of the shots. “Hmm…”

“How did I do, milord?” Niles calls out from where he stood, swinging the bow around idly.

“Better than I thought…” Leo says quietly. “Incredible aim…” He stands up straight. “Ah, you did well enough to pass.”

“Pass your inspection?” A sly smirk creeps its way onto Niles’ lips as Leo makes his way back towards him.

“I’m impressed,” Leo dodges the teasing. “It’s good to know I can count on you, Niles.” There’s a pause, a lull in the conversation, and then Leo speaks again. “Will you teach me?” This time, his voice is small and quiet, and Niles has to stop to register his question to make sure he heard it right.

“Teach you? How to use a bow?”

“Yes. It’s something I’ve always wanted to learn, but never got the chance.” He holds Niles’ gaze for a moment. “Will you teach me?” He asks again.

A chuckle. “You’ve done so much for me, milord, it’s only fair that I teach you something too, right?”

“I’m glad to hear you say that.” Leo is handed the bow, and he tries his best to mimic the position. “Like this?” The arrow slips out of his grasp. “Ah.”

“Mmm… extend your arm a bit more, like… hm...” Niles begins, raising his hands. “Do I have permission to... touch?”

“Of course,” Leo says, freely. “As much as you need.”

Niles laughs, then, “Dangerous words said to a dangerous man like me.” Leo’s smile once again fades into a frown as he turns his head to scowl briefly at his retainer, before turning back to concentrating on the target in front of him. “Hold it like this.” Niles places the arrow carefully between his fingers in just the right way, and stands beside him to correct his position, rough hands gently adjusting Leo’s form. “Pull the string like this. Not too fast.” He places his hand over Leo’s and pulls it along with him.

“Like… this?” Leo does his best to follow Niles’ instruction.

“Just like that. Now, release!” Leo does.

The arrow flops to the ground pitifully.

“Ah.”

“Oh.”

Niles tries not to laugh at the pout Leo may not realize his face is pulling. “Let’s try that again.” He picks up the arrow for him and places it in Leo’s fingers. This time, Niles rests his hands on Leo’s, going through the motions with him again. He guides Leo’s arm back as Leo draws the string taut, and then calmly sets his hand on Leo’s back, steadying his position. “Just like that. Now hold that position.” He turns his head from the bow to look at the prince’s form.

Leo’s brow furrows in his concentration, perhaps in slight annoyance at his inability to get it correct on his first try. His jaw is clenched, the muscles in his arms stiff, posture straight… Even in his intense concentration, he still manages to look… good. Handsome, even. Niles shakes his head. Odd, where were these thoughts suddenly coming from?

Leo lets go. The arrow flies farther than his first attempt, and lands somewhere in the ground between him and the target, but Niles was too busy watching the way the frontmost strands of Leo’s hair tousle when he lets the bow string go.

“Mm… what am I doing wrong?” Leo taps his foot impatiently on the ground.

“It takes practice,” Niles explains, trying to distract himself from his earlier thoughts. “Milord cannot expect to be instantly perfect at everything at his first try, right?” Predictably, his words don’t seem to satisfy Leo.

“I know, you’re right. I want to keep trying, though.” Leo raises his arms again. “Will you show me again?”

Leo is so graceful, Niles begins to note silently, as he repeats his steps and corrects his lord’s stance. Even holding such an instrument of death, be it a practice bow or Brynhildr, Leo always managed to be so elegant and refined, confident and bold, collected and handsome — beautiful, even.

Niles freezes, his fingers feeling numb at the thought.

_Beautiful?_

And now he cannot dismiss the thought. He sees it in his lord’s eyes, his nose, his lips, the way his hair frames his face, the way his headband sits neatly against his perfectly combed hair. The creamy smoothness of his skin, the way his shirt rests loosely on his shoulders. The way he bites the corner of his bottom lip when he is the slightest bit bothered, the way his brow furrows unevenly, the way the determined glimmer in his eyes regard the target in front of him...

A stray blond hair escapes from where Leo had tucked it away behind his ear earlier. Niles has to will himself not to touch it.

Leo shoots. Niles jumps, just the slightest, out of his thoughts.

The arrow lands on the target, just outside of the bullseye, and Leo’s entire face lights up in a way that steals Niles’ breath right from his lungs. “I did it! Did you see that?” Leo swings around to look at Niles, who was too busy studying his lord’s soft features to actually see the shot itself. “I hit it!”

“Very nice, milord.” Niles’ laugh sounds satisfied, genuine, “Very prodigious of you.”

Leo returns a smug smile. “Naturally. But I suppose I’ll have to give my teacher some credit, don’t you think?”

Leo hands back the bow, and the way Niles’ heart skips in the slightest jump when his fingers accidentally brush against Leo’s makes him wonder.

 

* * *

 

_“You don’t have to stand there all day, you know,” Leo says, flipping through the pages of Brynhildr in an effort to study it as carefully as he could in the next few hours. “You can take a seat.”_

_“It keeps me awake.” Niles leisurely organizes a pile of books by the color of their covers across from him, diligently waiting for Leo to finish his studying for the day. Once his pile was complete, he began re-sorting them by thickness, and then finally, once more into a book pyramid with no particular order. It wasn’t the most engaging way to spend his time, but there wasn’t much else for him to do in the library._

_Leo watches his retainer sort through the pile, in a sort of cathartic way. “You’re welcome to read one of those, you know.” He follows the book in Niles’ hand, checking out the titles as the books are picked up, one by one. “I can give you some recommendations.”_

_“Oh. No thank you, milord.”_

_“Not big on reading? You know, it’s really not as bad as I’ve heard some say it is.” Leo leans back in his chair. “I’ll never understand the argument that it’s such a huge time waster, that you can use this time to train. Do you know how much you can learn from reading?” Leo points to his head in emphasis. “Training your mind is just as important as training the rest of your body.”_

_“I can only imagine,” comes the somewhat-bored reply. “Are you almost done, milord?”_

_Realizing his case is lost on his retainer, Leo turns his attention back to the book in his hand. “Not yet. I have to study Brynhildr more. I have to memorize it. I can’t fall behind.”_

_“You’ve been in here for hours.”_

_“And not long enough.” He flips the page. “This is a legendary tome, Niles, and it’s been bestowed to me. I haven’t been in here nearly as long as Xander trains each day.”_

_“Ah,” is Niles’ reply, and nothing more, because he knows why Leo is so determined to study, and he knows nothing can pull his lord away once he’s made up his mind._

_Some time passes before Leo looks back up again. “Why don’t you sit down and read something? I enjoy the company, but I don’t want to keep you here if you’re this bored.” Niles doesn’t respond, but he does sit down. The book pyramid towers over him._

_“Here, how about this.” Leo gets up and walks towards the bookshelf, scanning through his collection until he pulls out a book with a blue cover and fading, gold accents, and the pages are just worn down enough to suggest heavy use. It looked well-loved. “This is one of my favorites, I think you’ll like this one. One of the characters is an outlaw-turned-hero,” he pauses, “Well, he’s not exactly_ the _hero, perhaps more like the anti-hero. But he’s a great foil to the main character, who becomes a knight after his life as a peasant in the countryside is changed when a… Oh, I won’t spoil it. Here, it’s good.” He’s handing the book over, but Niles regards it with a hesitant look, tentatively taking it from him and setting it down._

_“I’m sure it is, milord.”_

_“It’s an easy read if you’re worried about that. The print is large and—” Leo pauses, and Niles look away. “Wait, Niles… can you read?”_

_Niles leans back in his seat. “I never learned. It wasn’t exactly an important skill to have on the streets, and there wasn’t anyone willing to teach me.”_

_“Oh. I’m sorry, then.”_

_“You didn’t know, it’s alright.”_

_Leo shifts awkwardly, and then has an idea. Niles can see it on his face before he even speaks. “Do you want to learn? I can teach you.”_

_“Ah. Don’t worry about me, milord. You should be studying.”_

_“No, no, it’s fine.” Leo drags his chair over to sit besides Niles, and opens his book. “Like I said, this is a really easy read, so let’s try learning with this.”_

_Niles opens his mouth to say something, to protest, but changes his mind. His lord’s enthusiasm to teach him wins over his reluctance to pull him away from his studies, and he can see it in his eyes — the way Leo lights up with every word, every sound that leaves his lips like a song. Even the blandest, most common sentence sounds like music to Niles, like his favorite melody in a familiar voice. And eventually, Niles finds himself staring at the way Leo’s hair falls past his ear and the practiced way he tucks it back without a thought, the way his eyes scan through every line, perhaps captivated in the same way Niles is…_

_Leo looks up. Their eyes meet._

_Niles looks away._

_“Oh…”_

_“...Ah.”_

_Leo clears his throat, hyper-aware of where Niles had been looking. “Are you… paying attention?” When Niles looks back for just the slightest second, he thinks he sees just the faintest blush on Leo’s face, but — no, it had to be the candlelight._

_“Yes. Of course,” he manages, “Perhaps I need a break. I’m… going to take a walk. Thank you, milord.”_

_“Right. I should get back to studying Brynhildr then.” Leo closes the book in his hand and grabs for the tome, but as Niles leaves, the only thing either of them can think about is how Niles had been staring, and how Leo… didn’t seem to mind._

 

* * *

 

“Welcome back, milord,” Niles greets Leo one afternoon after his lord had come back from his riding practice. “I trust your ride went well?”

“Just fine, thank you,” Leo says, guiding his horse over to its place in the stables. Niles is right beside him, holding out his hand for Leo to take, to help him off his horse. Leo glances at Niles’ outstretched arms, and turns away. “I can handle myself.”

“But I always used to help you down. Does milord not need help anymore?” Niles teases, and Leo rolls his eyes with a defeated sigh, which makes Niles only open his arms even more. “Here, you can even hop off and I’ll catch you. Think I’m strong enough?” He flexes.

“That’s not necessary,” he says, feeling a bit flushed. “I thought you were out getting to know your new partner.”

“Ah, that guy. Odin...uh, Something...” Niles shrugs.

“Dark, I believe it was. Are you two getting along well enough?” Leo asks, looking at the second noncommittal shrug of his response.

“Well enough.” He repeats Leo’s last words as his answer, because while he wasn’t _not_ getting along with Odin Dark, the other retainer and his two friends had come from absolutely nowhere, and Niles was, understandably, suspicious. Especially when the first thing the supposed dark mage did was extend his hand in some dramatic, over-the-top fashion and mutter something about his ‘aching blood.’ But if Leo trusted him, Niles supposes he has to as well, albeit begrudgingly. “But I’d rather spend time with you, milord.” Niles flashes an expert grin, just because Leo’s reactions to his teasing were cute, and Niles liked seeing them.

“What’s gotten into you today?” Leo swings one leg over the saddle, ready to come down from his horse.

“Cabin fever, maybe,” Niles chuckles. “I’ve been inside all day.” Leo takes his hand, about to step down, but as his (clumsy) luck would have it, he misjudges the height and misses the step, sending him tumbling into Niles’ arms with a yelp.

Luckily, Niles was already prepared to catch him after outstretching his arms in jest. He grabs him immediately, almost startled at the sudden fall.

“Ah.”

“...Oh.”

“Careful, did your legs fall asleep, milord?” He smiles, and Leo slowly relaxes the death grip he’d clutched onto the back of Niles’ shirt.

Embarrassing. Leo’s face is a bright red. “I-I missed the step...” Niles doesn’t seem to have any issue holding him, lifting him like he was nothing. Oh, Niles was so strong… Leo could feel his muscles through the fabric of his shirt, and it’s taking everything in him not to run his hands down hard biceps, over his tough chest…

Leo swallows.

“Y-You can put me down now.” But the way Niles gently holds onto him, his strong arms guiding him down, Leo grips onto him a lot longer than he’d intended to, arms still holding onto Niles even well after his feet touch the ground. Staring straight into Niles’ gaze, Leo wonders how he’d never noticed the piercing blue of his eye before — it’s really a lovely color, like a sparkling zircon — it reminds him of the time he’d found a quiet stream to read beside, the sun lighting up the bubbling water into an effervescent cyan, and if he held his gaze long enough perhaps he could remember the pleasant breeze under the shaded alcove, the soothing sound of trickling water —

“You can let go now,” Niles says, and jolts Leo out of his thoughts. “If you’d like. Take your time,” he adds, and Leo immediately realizes what he was doing and lets go, crossing his arms and looking away.

“I was just making sure,” he says, defensively. Oh, this was so cliche, this definitely happened once or twice in a romance novel he’d read in the past. Their faces were so close, and if either of them had leaned forward just the slightest bit… Leo shakes his head. His life was _not_ a romance novel, and this was _not_ happening. “Anyway, I need to eat something. Will you accompany me?”

Niles nods, crossing his arms, and Leo tries not to stare at the way the muscles in his arms flex. “Of course.”

 _Oh_ , Leo thinks as he spends the rest of his day trying to control his wandering gaze, _this was bad_.

 

* * *

 

_Niles kneels before Leo in the torchlit chamber, surrounded by various members of the royal family—all strangers to him—looking down where he knelt in the center of the room. Iago, the direct subordinate to the king, stands immediately beside them, a jeweled dagger in hand, overseeing the ceremony. On a tall table made of stone rests a golden chalice, and at this angle, Niles can see his reflection—he is clean and well-dressed. What an odd sight._

_“State your name,” Iago says._

_“Z—” he hesitates, then, “Niles.”_

_“Recite the vows of fealty in front of Prince Leo.”_

_Niles stiffens. Iago looks callously at him, impatient and displeased._

_“I... don’t know it.”_

_To the side, Camilla exchanges a concerned glance with Xander, whose expression suggests apprehension in his younger brother’s choice in retainer. Where he had chosen capable soldiers as his retainers, his brother had chosen a thief and a criminal. At least Camilla’s retainer was, if anything, a highly skilled and trained assassin._

_“It’s fine,” Leo chimes in, “He doesn’t know it, I didn’t have him memorize it. I’ll recite it with him.” He picks up the gold chalice beside them and takes the dagger from Iago’s hands. “Niles, repeat after me,” he says, and slices his palm over the rim of the goblet with the slightest wince, red droplets of blood starting to cascade as Niles watches, transfixed._

_“On this day, you pledge yourself to me, Lord Leo, Second Prince of Nohr, in the presence of the Nohrian royal family.”_

_Niles repeats, “On this day, I pledge myself to you, Lord Leo, Second Prince of Nohr, in the presence of the Nohrian royal family.”_

_“You vow to protect me with your life, as my retainer, my servant, my bodyguard; as the blood of my blood, your oath of unwavering allegiance to me._

_“I vow to protect you with my life, as your retainer, your servant, your bodyguard,” he pauses, recollecting his words, “...as the blood of your blood, my oath of unwavering allegiance... to you.”_

_“Do you swear fealty to me, Niles?”_

_“I swear.”_

_The last drop of blood drains into the cup, and Leo picks it up, presenting it to Niles. “The blood of your new master, your lord, Prince Leo. I bind you to me, for all eternity—mind, body, and soul. May your devotion ring true—now, and for all time.”_

_Niles takes the chalice. The blood is warm in his hands through the lustrous metal._

_“And should you fail, may death take you as well.”_

_Niles doesn’t hesitate. “And should I fail, may death take me as well.”_

_“Now drink.”_

_He does._

 

* * *

 

“Good afternoon, milord.”

“Niles, hello.” Leo puts down his book.

“Corrin says we’re heading out soon.” Niles steps in, immediately heading right towards where Leo kept his armor in the corner of the room without Leo telling him to do so. “It’s time to get ready.”

“Mm, alright.” Leo pushes his chair back and stands.

“How has milord’s reading been?” Niles asks, placing pieces of armor in the order he wants to deal with first—he’s done this so many times before, and by now he’s all but memorized their routine: which piece goes first, what goes where, how tight he should pull to fasten it properly.

“It’s alright. I was mostly just passing the time.” He stretches his shoulders in preparation for the armor. “What have you been up to today?”

“Oh, just the usual.”

“And what is your usual?”

“You know me,” Niles begins with a smile, wiping off a part of Leo’s pauldrons where dust must have gathered since the last battle. “I’ve been here and there. I’ve heard some interesting talk, if milord would like to hear it.”

Leo makes a face, as if he’s considering but trying not to make it seem like he is.

Niles starts sharing anyway. “I hear Lord Xander is considering courting his queen soon.”

“Well, it’s only about time, I suppose.” Leo holds out his arms so Niles can slide his breastplate onto his torso. “Who is he considering?”

“Mmh, I think he has a few members of the army in mind.” Niles fits it nicely over his shoulders and reaches for the fastenings. “Nyx. Charlotte. Mozu.”

“The Hoshidan countrygirl?”

“I hear he likes her soup.” Niles clicks together metal and tightens the armor, just enough so Leo can still move. “And she makes him smile.”

“Hmm. Well, I suppose it is his choice in the end.”

Niles picks up one of Leo’s shoulder pauldrons. “I also hear we may be expecting another pregnancy in the army.”

“Niles, you know this sort of conversation is beneath my station,” Leo says, voice reprimanding, and Niles slides on the armor on one arm and smiles.

“Of course, my apologies, milord.” He starts on the other arm.

Leo clears his throat. “...But tell me, who is it?”

Niles doesn’t tease Leo about his change of heart, because he’d rather gossip. “I don’t have any proof, just a hunch, but I think it might be Selena.” He fastens up Leo’s gauntlets.

“Hearsay, I don’t believe that. Did she marry? I thought she was much too standoffish for that sort of…” Leo stops. “Wait, what did you mean, _another_ pregnancy?”

“You mean you don’t know that Lady Camilla…”

Leo stiffens uncomfortably. “Ah.”

“Oh.”

“No. I didn’t know that.”

Niles tightens a belt buckle. “My apologies, milord. I’ve spoiled the surprise. Congratulations, you’re going to be an uncle?”

“Why wouldn’t she tell me? I’m her brother!” Leo pouts as Niles starts to fasten greaves. “But that… is exciting, I suppose.” He pauses, and considers a wandering thought for a moment as Niles steps back to grab the rest of the pieces. “Hey, who do you think would win in a fight based on their devotion for Corrin: Silas or Jakob?”

“Neither. Felicia.” Niles adjusts the armor on Leo’s thighs. “She’d trip on top of them and knock them both out before they even knew what was coming.”

“But you can’t count on that, what if she doesn’t trip? Or she trips, and misses? The probability of that is too low to be reliable.”

“If it’s Felicia we’re talking about, she’ll definitely trip,” he says, “but you’re right, there’s no way of knowing if she’d land on one or both of them…”

“What about Kaze?”

“Oh, you’re right, I almost forgot about him.” Leo moves his arm to scratch an itch on his cheek. “I don’t know, I think he’d concede if only because his personality is too passive compared to Silas and Jakob. He’d know the truth, but if it would make the other two feel better...”

“Hm, you may be right.” Niles finishes the armor on Leo’s legs and stands to fix Leo’s collar. “Speaking of, Kaze’s little daughter is becoming an expert on medicines, I hear. It’d be good to have someone like that in our ranks.”

“When she’s older. We’re an army, not a babysitting service.”

“With the passage of time in the Deep Realms, she could be old enough tomorrow.”

“Then we’ll deal with that tomorrow.”

Niles hums, slowly fastening the last buckle on Leo’s armor to hold everything in place. “Are you thinking about marriage, milord?”

Leo falls silent for a moment. “...No, I’m not.”

“I won’t tell anyone if there is someone in the army you fancy.” Niles smiles. “You can tell me.”

“Well, what about you, then?” Leo tries to change the direction of the conversation, focusing the question on his retainer instead. “Do _you_ have anyone in mind?”

Niles doesn’t answer. He clears his throat and steps away. “I’ve finished, milord, you’re all done.”

Leo turns around to look at his retainer. “You didn’t answer the question.”

“Neither did you, milord.”

A stifling silence passes between them, and it’s only after a moment has passed that they realize they’ve been holding each other’s gaze a lot longer than they’d anticipated. Both of them look away at the same time.

“Another time, then. Corrin should be expecting us soon.”

Niles swears the red tint on his cheeks are from his efforts helping put on his lord’s armor. Leo doesn’t have an excuse for his.

 

* * *

 

_It happens again._

_It happens again, a year and a half later, inside the castle during a banquet. An assassin must have made his way onto the list of invited guests, because he managed to slip passed all pairs of royal retainers and the guards throughout the castle._

_He must have been aiming for Garon. Xander wasn’t in the room when he stepped forward, knife hidden somewhere in his garments. It was a stupid move, Niles thought at the time; there was no way he’d succeed in a room filled with this many people, many of whom were armed to the teeth with weapons in case of an assassination attempt just like this one. Garon was a powerful king. Many of his subjects disagreed with his rule. This was not new._

_But still, the moment he was close enough to Garon, the blade came out in a mad dash towards the king. Garon doesn’t even flinch. He knew Iago would appear right beside him, flinging the man away with some sort of magic. What he doesn’t anticipate is the assassin’s next move; he strikes again, but at the last minute he turns not to aim for Garon, but for the prince standing beside him—Prince Leo._

_He doesn’t get close, though. Niles immediately wrestles the man down in one swift motion the very second he changes course, twisting his arm back and grabbing the knife out of his hand to hold against his throat. “What a fool you are,” He leans down and mutters in his ear, voice dark and cold. “Of all days to try an assassination, you picked a well-guarded banquet. Filled with royals and their retainers.” His eye darts up for the briefest moment to glare at Iago for not lifting a finger to help Leo when the assailant approached._

_“Fuck you,” the assassin spits onto the floor as Leo gets up and walks closer. “That man—that sad excuse of a king! If you royals ever stepped foot outside your castles you’d see—just how the rest of us are living while Garon does nothing to help us!”_

_Niles doesn’t move, doesn’t even blink, listening to the familiar words of this man’s life. “What shall I do, milord?” He finally looks up at Leo, keeping the blade digging into the man’s throat, holding it level, a warning as the man struggles against his captor._

_“Just kill me already!” The man hisses violently, “Death is better than being thrown back out onto the streets while you royals sit in your towers with—with enough food and water—no fear of—of losing everything!” In his anger, he spits his words, thick wet droplets oozing onto the tiled floor._

_Leo watches the scene quietly; Niles pinning the assailant down with his own weight easily, the man cursing and spitting and struggling against the man astride him. He also sees the hesitation in his retainer’s grip, how his hand falters just a moment, uncertainty flashing in his eye for the slightest second. Empathy._

_“Kill him,” Leo says, finally._

_Niles meets his lord’s stare, “Don’t look.”_

_“Kill him,” Leo repeats, keeping his gaze locked on the sight in front of him._

_He does._

_***_

_“Are you still thinking about the assassin?” Leo’s voice brings Niles out of his thoughts some time later, when they walk together down the empty castle halls. Niles keeps a slower pace behind him silently, and now that Leo had said something, he supposes he had been oddly quiet for too long. He shakes his head._

_“No, milord.”_

_Another step of silence. “Does it bother you that I had you kill him?”_

_“Of course not. I will do whatever milord asks of me.”_

_“You were thinking that could have been you, wondering why I didn’t do the same to you.”_

_Niles closes his eye._

_“Nohrian law is blunt on the subject of traitors.” Niles has heard this before. “The only punishment is death.”_

_“Then why didn’t you kill me?”_

_Leo pauses. “Are you reconsidering your choice?” he asks simply, turning his head just enough to see Niles over his shoulder, and doesn’t make eye contact._

_“No.” Niles’ reply is firm. “Because of you, I’ve found a purpose,” he says, and Leo stops walking. “I swore myself to you, milord—mind, body, and soul. My blood is yours, as you see fit. If I die, as long as you are safe, then so be it. I will protect you until the very end, and I would gladly sacrifice my own life for yours, should it ever become necessary.”_

_Leo stays silent, clutching Brynhildr in his arms. “I knew you would. It was something in your eye that told me, something about the way you looked at me,” he explains quietly. “I didn’t see it in him.” When Niles doesn’t know how to respond, Leo sighs and looks down. “Let’s go,” he says, starting to walk again. “I don’t want to keep Father waiting.”_

_Niles follows behind without question._

 

* * *

 

“Charlotte, hello!” Niles steps right up to the group of men chatting with the blonde axewoman with a sly smile on his face. “How are you doing? I just wanted to let you know you look absolutely ravishing today, truly _—_   did you do something new to your hair?” he teases—this was a little game he liked to play with her: he’d jump into her conversations and see how long it’d take her to break and show her true self, and in turn she tested her limits of how long she could handle keeping up her gentle persona. The way she turns to look at him suggests Niles was going to win.“Ahah... Niles. Again. What is it now?” Her voice is innocent but her glare is deadly.

“I just wanted to say hello, I was passing by and I saw you talking, that’s all.” He crosses his arms as the soldiers exchange glances.

“Is… everything okay here?” one of them asks, and Charlotte tries not to look annoyed.

“Oh, Niles… do you remember the last time this happened? I believe I made myself _very_ clear.”

Niles hums. “I do! I very much do.” Oh he definitely does: the last time he dared venture over he was suddenly dragged a considerable distance away in her arms and tossed onto the ground, where her fist collided with the side of his face and he nearly had to beg her to stop. He’d convinced her that interacting with him was helping her gain the attention of other men in the army—anyone wondering what they were talking about circled around Charlotte like a moth to a flame, which only made her feel even better about herself. He was lucky he even survived the encounter at all.

Ah, those were good times.

“So what brings you here, then?” Charlotte laughs nervously in an effort to mask her annoyance. “Surely we don’t have to repeat the last time…” She clenches her fist as a warning.

“Well, I—” Niles begins, but a different voice from behind him cuts him off.

“What’s going on here?” Niles turns around at the familiar voice as Leo steps towards them.

“Oh! Lord Leo!” The pleasant lilt in Charlotte’s voice returns. “How are you, my lord?”

“Just fine, thanks,” Leo replies, glancing at the odd mix of people in front of him. “What are you all discussing?”

The entertained snickering from Niles invites a subtle glare from Charlotte. “Nothing, milord. I was just telling Charlotte how beautiful she looks today. Just a harmless compliment. Don’t you think so?”

“Quite,” comes the uninterested response, and Leo starts to look Niles up and down in what appeared to be a survey of his appearance.

“O-oh-ho,” Charlotte giggles nervously, “Lord Leo is sooo kind. It’s really nothing—”

“Niles, are those boots new?” Leo interrupts, clearly not listening to Charlotte. “I don’t remember seeing them before.”

“Uh…” Niles looks down. “Yes, they are. I bought them not too long ago. My old ones were irreparably filthy and worn.”

“They look good on you.” Leo clears his throat and regards his retainer with a sly smirk. “I see you’ve done something to your hair as well.”

“U-uh— I didn’t— I mean,” Oh no, Leo was doing the exact thing he was doing to Charlotte. The game wasn’t fun if he wasn’t on the right side… But unlike Charlotte, he can’t run away from this, nor can he express himself in a way that might come off as… unsightly.

“No? Well, it looks good. Tousled in just the right way.” Leo crosses his arms and leans his weight to one side. What exactly is he getting at? Niles doesn’t answer right away, deciding to wait for his lord to say something else.

The group of soldiers look on in some sort of mix of confusion and awe.

“Hmm…” Charlotte’s voice calls out finally, “Maybe I should go, and leave you two alone…”

Niles looks up immediately, “Actually, Charlotte, would you mind doing me a favor and punch me again? Because I’m not quite sure I’m awake right now.”

Leo steps in between him and Charlotte so he was, more or less, the center of attention, much to Niles’ chagrin. “Punch you? Why on earth would Charlotte do that? You know, if you really want someone to punch you, I can do it. I’m strong, don’t you think?” And the sly smirk reappears on Leo’s face in a way that makes Niles think he’s doing it on purpose. ...Or maybe, he realizes, he _is_ doing it on purpose.

Oh Gods.

Lord Leo was doing this on purpose.

…

_Lord Leo was flirting with him?_

Niles feels like his brain has just been instantly incinerated into a fine powder at the realization. His lord was not any _good_ at flirting by any means—he wagers all of his lines are taken directly from some book he’d read when everyone thought he was asleep (and now that Niles thinks about it he does remember seeing some book under his lord’s bed one night as he made sure Lord Leo got to his quarters safely… What was the title again, something like, _Make Him Fall for You in a Fortnight_? Niles couldn’t remember, but it was something like that.)

“Here, look,” Leo extends his arm and flexes his muscles, “Feel them, aren’t they strong?” He grabs Niles’ wrist and guides his hand over to touch his biceps, fingers gliding over skin as he does so. “What do you think?”

“Very, ah, impressive, milord.” At this point, Niles doesn’t know what to say. He can’t wrap his head around Lord Leo’s attempt at flirting, and he doesn’t want to try and flirt back because what if it becomes too inappropriate? There were soldiers watching! Charlotte was watching! As a royal, he supposes Leo could do whatever he wanted with his subordinates, but there was no way Niles was going to flirt back. He looks up at Charlotte with a pleading look for help, and is met with a dark grin, tongue out, glare mischievous. Ugh, Charlotte was enjoying Leo giving him a taste of his own medicine, and that meant he was stuck.

“I thought you’d say that,” Leo says, “Well anyway, Charlotte,” he turns his attention to the woman beside him. “What were you two up to before I walked over? I didn’t interrupt, did I?”

“Oh, no no of course not, milord!” She laughs, “Niles is right, he was just complimenting me on my looks today! I know I’m not the strongest person in the army, but I’m sooo thankful to be here, so I was just taking the time to chat with a few of the soldiers, that’s all!”

Leo smiles at her in a way that makes Niles feel a little jealous when the smile wasn’t on him anymore. He brushes that feeling away. “That’s very considerate of you. It’s a good way to increase morale, wouldn’t you agree?” The group of soldiers nod their head in agreement, and Charlotte pretends to fluster.

“Ohh, milord is so kind. With that kind of talk, you’ll make your future princess sooo happy.” She says, and immediately Niles looks away. Leo catches the reaction from the corner of his eye.

“Ah, yes,” Leo outwardly agrees with her, “perhaps some day.”

“It’s true! Does milord perhaps think about his future like that?” she continues, as much as Niles doesn’t want this line of conversation to continue. To his dismay, Leo keeps talking.

“I imagine perhaps I may be wed to a princess of another kingdom,” he says, shifting his weight to the other leg. “After all, I am not the crown prince, merely the second, so my marriage will most likely be political.”

“Well, milord should have some freedom to choose, just as Lord Xander can, right?”

“Hmm, yes, you’re right,” he says, and Niles could swear he sees the quickest glance in his direction, as Leo continues entertaining the thought. “I don’t have as much freedom as Xander right now, but it’s a possibility.”

“A possibility indeed…” Niles chimes in finally, sounding distant. There’s an awful churning in his stomach, finding the conversation topic somewhat disagreeable, and he hates it.

Leo follows up immediately. “Unless of course, someone wanted to proposition something to me,” he says, and again Niles swears there’s another brief glance in his direction. “Then perhaps I will consider it. But one will never know unless they try, right?”

Niles fakes a cough and then clears his throat abruptly. “Anyway, I should be going. I think I’ve said all I wanted to say…”

Leo chuckles, and then pats Niles on the shoulder. “At ease, Niles. Just a bit of fun, right?”

“...Yes, of course, milord.” Niles disagrees with his lord’s exact definition of ‘fun,’ but he’s too busy mulling over these awful feelings of jealousy that had arisen inside him. He knows what it is, and why it’s there, but he doesn’t want to admit it just yet.

Leo laughs.

***

Odin, Laslow, and Selena look on from the distance behind the weapon’s shed.

“Ew. He’s hopeless.” Selena rolls her eyes. “I knew lending him that book was a waste of time.”

“No way, it definitely helped!” Laslow says. “He even did the biceps thing, I knew the biceps thing would work!”

“The biceps thing was my idea, Laslow of the Azure Skies, don’t take credit for my idea!” Odin bops him on the head with his tome.

“You’re just upset Lord Leo didn’t want to take your offer on, what was it called, The Odin Dark Romance Bewitchery, something or another—”

“That’s The Odin Dark Romance Bewitchery _of Darkness_ , and it would have worked if Lord Leo used his stronger tome hand, obviously.” Odin pouts from the corner, because Laslow was blocking his view of the awkward attempts of flirting happening before them.

“Tome hand? Are we trying to get Lord Leo to woo Niles or kill him?” Laslow replies, and Selena shakes her head.

“I don’t know guys, at this rate, Niles might die. Look at him, I think he’s mentally checked out.”

“No, Niles, hang in there! Lord Leo has to ask him to tea!” Laslow says, a lot louder than he’d intended, and both Odin and Selena shoosh him. “It’s the tea! The tea always works!”

“The tea never works,” Selena and Odin both say at the same time, and Laslow retreats to take Odin’s place in pouting in the corner, as Odin wedges himself beside Selena instead.

“I still can’t believe Lord Leo came to us for advice.” Selena shifts to make room for Odin.

“I knew he would! My third eye, Truth Strahl, the organ of my sacred sight, knew he would come!” Odin extends his hand dramatically. Laslow comes back and pokes his head out just in time to see Niles trying to hide a blush behind his hand.

“Well, he didn’t really, right? Odin, didn’t you say you or your Tooth Straw or whatever saw the two of them fail at courting each other or something?”

“Anyone with eyes can tell there’s something going on with them. It’s not like it’s hard,” Selena says.

“I don’t know… I don’t think they know.”

A silence.

“Well, that’s awkward.”

 

* * *

 

_“Oh, there you are. I’ve been looking for you.” Leo approaches Niles one afternoon, when he’d spotted his retainer in the courtyard watching what he assumes are the clouds in the sky. “What are you doing?”_

_“Ah, hello,” Niles begins, “um, milord,” he adds as an afterthought, still not used to addressing anyone in such a way. “It’s just a nice day.”_

_“I never took you for a daydreamer,” Leo says, standing beside him, and looking up at the sky as well._

_“I’m not...particularly,” Niles replies, “but I find that I have more time than I know what to do with here. Now that I’m not…” He pauses, as if wondering how he should put this, “focused on trying to survive the day, I suppose.”_

_Leo toes a rock at his feet and looks back at his retainer. “Is that a request for more orders? I can give you some menial tasks if you want to keep yourself busy.” The way Niles chuckles in response is sweet—charming, even, and Leo fights the sudden urge to smile, or even laugh along with him._

_“I didn’t say I thought this was a bad thing. It’s… nice.” He stretches out on the rock he was sitting on. “Would you—er, would milord like to join me?”_

_Leo shakes his head, “Maybe some other time. I have some things to do, unfortunately.”_

_“Do you require any assistance?”_

_“No, you can stay here. I’ll call for you if I need you.” Leo turns to leave, making it halfway back to the door when he remembers. “Oh, I almost forgot - Niles?”_

_Niles immediately turns his attention towards Leo. “Yes, milord?” His prompt reply takes his lord aback, sending a smile shooting right up to Leo’s face, lips curving upwards in a wide grin he then tries to hide between his fingers._

_“You answered to that name so quickly,” Leo says, almost in a surprised whisper. “To Niles.” His expression is so happy and warm that even Niles is feeling some heat rise to his cheeks._

_“Yes, I did.” What a fascinating reaction. “I suppose you have me well-trained now.”_

_“Oh stop that, I’m just glad you’re… getting used to it. Would I be correct in assuming this is true?”_

_Niles gives him a slow nod, “You’ve given me all I could ever ask for and more, milord.”_

_The delighted smile on Leo’s face beams brighter than the sun above them, burning in Niles’ mind a memory he would trade everything to be able to remember forever. It’s only after Leo leaves that he realizes he never asked what he was originally going to say, but at least Niles was able to make him happy. Niles felt good—better, even—that he felt even just the slightest bit useful._

_The smile on Leo’s face lasts throughout the entire day._

 

* * *

 

“Niles…” Leo calls out into the darkness from his bed late at night, because he knows Niles is listening. He knows Niles is hovering right outside his chambers, and he hopes it’s because he wants to be invited in.

Still, the answer comes slow, as if Niles hadn’t expected him to notice his presence there. “Yes, Milord?” He steps forward, into the dim light of a dying candle.

Leo hums, and then rolls over. “I can’t sleep.”

“What would milord like me to about that?”

Leo stretches, long and slow, and in the flickering glow Niles can see the way Leo’s half-lidded gaze watches him, studies him, like he’s waiting for Niles to come and make a move. His hair is neat and his clothes don’t look like he’d been wearing them long… like he knew Niles would be there tonight. “Tell me something.”

“What would milord like to hear?”

“Hmm…” Leo hums in thought, as if he was counting on Niles to have something in mind that he wanted to say to him. “What do you do when you can’t sleep?”

Niles takes half a step, and then doesn’t move any closer. He has a feeling he knows where Leo is going with this… and as much as a part of him wants to follow, the larger part of him knows he shouldn’t. He couldn’t—not with his lord, to overstep that boundary was too much even for him.

Still, he answers. “I like to stargaze, milord.”

“Stargaze?”

Niles nods, though perhaps Leo couldn’t see. “I take a walk. There’s a hill not too far from here, and when the skies are clear and the moon is bright, watching the night sky can be very relaxing.”

“What do you see in them?” Leo props his head up on the pillow.

Niles chuckles. “Well, how can I answer that question? I suppose everyone finds comfort in their own ways.” He meets Leo’s gaze, “I also like to track the constellations. I’m getting pretty good at it.”

“Will you take me?” Ah, there was the question Niles was waiting for. He crosses his arms and leans his weight on one leg.

“Yes, but not tonight. It’s much too cloudy and far too late for you to leave the castle.” He walks over, and holds his hand out towards the blankets. “May I?” And when Leo nods, Niles pulls them up and tucks his lord in gently. He can see Leo is disappointed, but he also sees the hesitation in his expression. And perhaps that is for the best.

“Goodnight, milord,” Niles says as he walks back towards the doorway, blowing out the candle on his way out.

“Niles,” Leo calls out again, suppressing the sudden urge to reach out and grab his hand. “promise me you’ll take me one day.”

“To see the stars?”

“Yes.”

“Very well.”

 

* * *

 

_The bed in his chambers was too soft._

_Niles had never_ felt _such a luxury in his life, and now an entire bed with a soft mattress, a fluffy pillow, and warm blankets were here, in his room, all for himself. The first night, he slowly got in bed, sinking in the softness of it all, and found that he couldn’t sleep. Everything was too soft, too light, too… comfortable. If he slipped into a deep sleep, there was no telling what would happen while he was out. They’ve already bathed and dressed him, and not only was he smelling nice, but he was also dressed nicely. For_ bed _._

_“Do all royals dress this nicely when they retire for the night?” he’d asked after walking out wearing his new bedclothes. The pants were too big but the shirt was too tight, and Leo tapped his chin with an amused smile at the sight._

_“These clothes don’t compare at all to our usual. Tomorrow, we’ll get you fitted into something that will fit properly, and ones suitable for daily wear. But tonight, try and sleep as much as you can.”_

_He tossed and turned, and with a sigh, found sleep impossible. A part of him worried he wouldn’t get used to life here—the beds were too soft, the food was too rich, the water was hot and available. His stomach already hurt from the food they fed him earlier that night… although, if he were being honest, he may have wolfed down a bit more than he should have (but_ oh _, there was so_ much _of it, and it was_ there, _and so_ delicious _…) and perhaps that’s why his stomach was bothering him so much._

_The next night, Niles started sleeping on the ground. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was what he was used to. Plus… it was easier for the rest of him—his stomach still hadn’t adjusted to the richness of the foods here; even the fruits were heavy with juice when he wasn’t picking them out of someone else’s garbage. The sleep he eventually drifts off to isn’t deep or restful by any means, but it's just what he's used to._

_The next day, he has his eye treated by an actual doctor—an uncomfortable procedure that was nowhere near as painful as his festering gash was—by someone who actually knew what he was doing. Afterwards, he has his pick of various eyepatches that were delivered to him. He chooses the one that seems to catch Leo’s attention the most, the black one with a cross design._

_“I like the design. Perhaps it makes you look a little cool,” Leo says, quietly and under his breath, hoping Niles heard it well enough for him to not have to repeat it._

_“Does milord want his retainer to look ‘cool’?” Niles asks, while putting the patch on carefully and adjusting it in the mirror._

_Leo doesn’t respond, but it does make him smile as he turns away._

_That night, Niles tosses in bed, haunted by fleeting visions of the only things he can remember from his past. He pictures old brick. A field mouse and torrential rain. A pile of money. A horribly disfigured man with rotting teeth who reaches for him—just as Niles jolts awake, sits up from where he’d made his bed on the hard floor. Sweat beads down his forehead, the taste of blood still lingering in his mouth._

_He leaves the castle and finds a hill underneath the stars. And in the soft, inviting glow of moonlight, he finds the soothing calmness he’d been looking for, captivated by the night sky._

 

* * *

 

Niles keeps his promise.

On a clear night sky he rouses Leo from his sleep—gently, softly, careful not to startle him. “Milord, wake up.”

“Mmm… Niles?” Leo’s unused voice cracks, sleepy and disheveled as he sits up and rubs his eyes. “What is it? Is there trouble?”

“It’s a clear night out, milord. A full moon.” Leo takes a moment to understand the significance. “Do you want to come outside?”

“...Yes,” Leo answers finally, slowly sliding out of bed. Niles grabs him a jacket and has to stop himself from grabbing his hand as well.

Leo drags himself through the halls with him, following him through the courtyard and up towards the hill under the stars. A patch of grass is flattened by Niles’ routinely visits.

Leo sits besides him and shivers.

“Ah, I’m sorry Milord. I should have grabbed the other jacket.”

“It’s alright.”

“No, here. Take mine.” Niles shrugs off his and moves to wrap it around Leo’s shoulders.

“What? Won’t you be cold, then?”

“I’ll be fine, milord.”

The heavier heat around Leo’s body is comforting, and when he pulls it closer to himself he can smell Niles in the fabric—it’s warm. Familiar. Comforting.

“If you’re cold… perhaps we could…” Leo bites his lip, unable to make eye contact. “Perhaps we could share.” He holds out his arm, inviting Niles to lean into the warmth with him. And Niles does, joining him and wrapping the warm cloth around themselves, shoulders together. The extra body heat is nice, and Leo very much wishes Niles would throw an arm around his shoulders and pull him closer while he's at it.

“Does milord know much about the stars?”

“Not terribly. Care to show me a few?”

“Of course. See that one? It’s the North Star.”

“It’s bright.”

“And that one there, that’s Orion. There’s a story about him, he was a hunter - an archer, in fact.” Niles holds his hands out as if he was drawing a small bow in front of him. “One of the very best. I think I’m a better shot, though.” He turns with a smile towards Leo, who sees this out of the corner of his eye and turns to meet Niles’ gaze.

“Where did you learn about all of these?”

“At first, I didn’t know what I was looking at aside from familiar patterns in stars every now and then. But then, once I could, I read up on the stories.”

“Once you could…” Leo repeats, trailing off.

“Once I could. Once you taught me to read,” Niles says, “so perhaps, I have you to thank for this, then?”

Leo says nothing, and only curls up closer to Niles.

“Ah—you see that one, up there? There’s a curve in those stars—the really bright ones, do you see it?”

“I think so. Which one is that?”

“It’s one of my favorites,” Niles responds. “It’s… it’s called Leo.” That was smooth. And a rare smile finds its way onto his lord’s lips. If he could capture just a single moment in his mind, pocket it away forever to see whenever he closed his eye, it was this—his lord, draped in his clothing, smiling at him under the iridescent moonlight and the brilliant stars above.

They stay like that, as if time itself had paused just for this moment, just for them—Leo’s gaze fixed on the brilliant blue of Niles’ eye that accented his strong features, reminding him once again of the tranquil stream of his favorite reading spot, comforting and warm. If Leo was told at this moment that the very Gods themselves had stopped the passing of time just so he and Niles could bask in each other’s familiar warmth, there was a chance he could very much believe that.

“I read a novel like this once,” Leo says, finally.

“Like what?”

“Two characters stargaze under the moon and share warmth huddled together.” He starts off slow. “It was a romance novel.”

“I didn’t know you liked—”

“I read all kinds of novels!” Leo cuts him off before he can finish the thought. “You can probably guess what happened between them.”

“I can.” He can.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to recreate that scene.”

“I haven’t read the book, milord.”

“You could.”

“I could.” He could.

A silence falls between them. Niles turns to meet Leo’s gaze, and Leo, cheeks tinted the slightest pink in the soft moonlight, glows beside him.

“Tell me what happened in the novel,” Niles says, after some time. He knows where this is going, but he doesn’t want it to stop, and the words leave him before he can think about the situation.

“The two characters… they watch the stars until finally, one of them confesses his affection for the other,” Leo starts, moving closer and resting a hand on Niles’ arm. “The other saw it coming, they’ve been dancing around feelings for years, and it was only a matter of time before one of them did.” Niles certainly doesn’t need to know how much Leo is making up the events of his novel entirely.

“Ah,” is all Niles replies - perhaps it is in his best interest not to find this familiar, but yet he does.

“And then, under the moon, they sit like this,” Leo continues, leaning in towards Niles’ face. Niles retaliates without thinking - with a hand gently cupping Leo’s face, body turning towards him. “Until they lean in slowly,” they do, “after all that time,” Leo all but whispers this so close to Niles’ lips, closing his eyes, tilting his head and feeling his breath catch in his throat. “And…”

Niles pulls away.

“Perhaps it is getting too cold out. Let’s get you back inside, I don’t want you getting sick.” Inside his chest, his heart is pounding until he hears a faint ringing in his ears. He sees Leo’s expression from the corner of his eye, and doesn’t turn to meet his frustrated frown. He can’t—they can’t, Niles shouldn’t be the one. But to have his lord return his feelings—  _oh_ , he was in trouble.

With a defeated huff Leo gets to his feet. “Fine then, take me back. I’ll admit to being cold if that’s what makes you happy.”

“I’m only looking out for you.” And he is. In more ways than one. He knows Leo understands that, and knows it doesn’t mean he has to agree.

The walk back to Leo’s chambers is silent. Leo still holds onto Niles’ cape as he walks back, with Niles following close behind. In the past they’ve walked in silence many times before, but this time the atmosphere around them right now feels tense and uncomfortable, and it’s only until Leo gets to the door to his chambers that he speaks and breaks the silence.

“I am your lord. I get to decide my own life.” He turns to open the door. “My retainer does not make decisions for me.” His voice his harsh and tired.

Niles nods. “I agree. You are my lord,” he says, blinking slowly. “And I am only your retainer.”

“I know you’re trying to look out for me, but I know what I want.” He doesn’t look at Niles when he speaks. “And I know you feel the same.”

Niles keeps his gaze on his lord despite the other’s reluctance to return it. He sees the intensity in Leo’s eyes, understands the meaning behind his words… He keeps his exterior calm, but inside his heart beats with an intense rhythm, blood coursing white hot through his veins with every word that falls from Leo’s lips. “Milord should sleep.”

“Only if you join me,” Leo says hurriedly, turning to look directly at Niles, catching every change of emotion as the thought processes in Niles’ head. He waits for the reply, heart racing from the nervousness of his request and the anticipation of response.

“M-Milord,” Niles manages, “I can’t. You know I can’t. I’m not the person you should be with.”

“But why not?” Leo clutches the fabric of Niles’ cape tightly in a whitening fist. “Because you think you’re not good enough? That a prince can’t be with his retainer? That some royal guideline dictates that I am forced to wed only for an heir? I don’t care! I don’t care, Niles!”

“You do,” Niles is cut off by the growing lump in his throat, and he swallows before continuing. “You do need an heir.”

“Don’t tell me that!” He can tell Leo is growing increasingly frustrated as this goes on. “Xander is going to be King. He’s the crown prince. I’m just—”

“A prince of Nohr,” Niles continues for him, “who should not be together with his lowly retainer.”

“Stop that. Stop talking about yourself like that.”

Niles crosses his arms. “I am essentially a street rat you’d picked out of the gutter and given a new life. And for that, I am eternally grateful to you, milord. But that also means I cannot be with you.” A sigh; slow, tired. Sad. “You made me your retainer...that means I must protect you,” he continues after another pause, his words echoing something he said a long time ago. “And I am. Unless… milord wishes to order me otherwise.”

Leo scowls, his words not sitting well with him. “I’m not going to order this from you. I’m not asking anything from you as your lord.”

“As what, then?”

“Niles…” Leo bites his lip, and then looks down, fighting back tears of frustration and taking a breath. “It’s you. It’s been you.” He tries to avoid meeting his gaze, with the way the blood rushes to his head. “It’s always been you.”

A pause. Niles closes his eye. “It’s always been you, too,” he says, softly.

Leo doesn’t continue, doesn’t see the merit in arguing what Niles had made perfectly clear. The pressure behind his eyes caused tears to well, and Leo blinks them back and looks away.

Niles reaches over, cups Leo’s cheek and strokes the soft skin gently with his thumb. “Don’t cry, milord,” he says softly, “I’m not worth your tears.”

 _Stop it_ , Leo wants to say, _Don’t you dare talk like that in front of me_ , but he’s too focused on keeping the tears back, keeping his frustration at the situation before him at bay. “Niles,” he says, finally, in his softest voice, “Niles, I love you.” Niles closes his eye and doesn’t respond, like he’d been dreading hearing those words for so long, and now that he's heard them there was no going back. “And I’ve never been more certain of anything else in my life. But…” he continues, “you’re right. It’s late. And I should sleep.” Leo places his hand over Niles’ on his cheek, gentle and warm.

“Good night, milord. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Niles pulls him in and kisses him on the forehead before letting him go to leave.

Leo brings the cape to bed.

 

* * *

 

_There was a knock on the door, but Niles was too tired to register. “Niles?” Leo opens the door to Niles’ room slowly, peeking his head in, “Niles, are you there?”_

_The bed was empty, blankets folded and neat over what looked like completely untouched bedding. Niles had been there for months—how did he keep his bed looking so clean and flawless?_

_Leo looks down. Niles was on the floor._

_“Niles?” Leo rushes over to him, in fear that something had happened—was he sick? Cursed? ...Dead? But the minute Leo touches his shoulder, Niles has him in a tight grip, slamming him down to the ground and pinning him down by the neck. Leo can barely make a sound in reaction, the air forced out of his lungs when his back hit the floor._

_“Who are—!” Niles begins, and then realizes who is under him. “M-Milord?” He scrambles away immediately. “I-I’m so sorry, milord, it’s just... a reflex, I—are you okay? Did I hurt you?” The words leave Niles’ tongue like a waterfall, a barrage of concern and embarrassment as Leo sits up and brushes his shoulders off. This was it, Leo would finally change his mind and have him executed—_

_“I’m fine,” Leo says instead. “I can understand that.” Despite his lord’s words, Niles doesn’t seem to be comforted. “What are you doing?”_

_“What am I…?”_

_“Why were you on the floor? Are you alright?” Niles had just slammed his lord to the floor and here he was asking him if Niles was alright._

_“I—yes. I am alright.” His eyes trail back to where he was resting. “I was just sleeping.”_

_“Sleeping? On the ground?” Leo looks at the untouched bed. “Is the bed we provided for you not comfortable enough?”_

_“Oh, no, it is,” Niles says, “Perhaps too much. There is nothing wrong with the bed, I’m just not used to sleeping in one.” He gets up, and offers Leo a hand. “I… found trouble sleeping in it.” His words hint at a deeper meaning, and Leo seems to understand._

_“No one will hurt you here, Niles,” he says, getting to his feet. “I assure you, anyone who tries to hurt you will answer to me.”_

_Niles chuckles, light and amused, though perhaps it was uncalled for given their situation. “Isn’t it my job to protect you?”_

_“And you do such a good job of it I have to return the favor, don’t I?” A small chuckle leaves Leo’s lips as well. “If I let you die, who will protect me, then?”_

_“Hm,” Niles hums, crossing his arms, “You have a point. I appreciate the… good faith.”_

_“Well, I have to trust my retainer, don’t I?” Leo’s words seem to strike something, as Niles’ expression twists in the slightest way. “Do you trust me?” And Niles falls silent—this was the first time anyone had ever said those words to him._

_“Forgive me, milord,” Niles answers finally. “This is... new to me.”_

_“Did you trust them?” Leo asks, and when Niles picks his head up, he continues. “Your old comrades, I mean. Did you trust them?”_

_“Ha,” he laughs bitterly, shaking his head. “In that field, trust got you nowhere. It was every man for himself, the camaraderie was all fake and shallow.” When he sighs, his shoulders sag with him. “You pretend to respect the strongest in the group. You leave the weak behind. There’s no trust involved.”_

_“But that’s why it hurt so badly, didn’t it?” Leo says. “When they left you. Because you trusted them.”_

_Niles is silent again. Leo holds out his arm. “Give me your hand.”_

_“Milord?”_

_Leo waves his hand with a slight beckoning motion. “Give me your hand,” he repeats. Niles does, and Leo laughs, slapping his other hand over his with a loud clap. “What did you think I was going to do?”_

_Niles doesn’t really know what he was getting at, so he shakes his head in confusion._

_“You gave me your hand when I asked.” Leo’s skin is soft against Niles’ calloused fingers, and Leo begins to stroke where he’d slapped him idly as he speaks. “Perhaps it may not be much, but I hope this means you trust me even in the slightest.”_

_“I… see…” Niles’ voice sounds hesitant. Perhaps he was right._

_Leo turns over Niles’ hand so his palm faces up. “I read in a book that you can determine someone’s future by reading the lines on their palm. Want to try it?”_

_“Uh…”_

_“I haven’t done it before, but let’s see how much I remember.” He gently grazes the pads of his fingers across the deep lines of Niles’ palm, studying them carefully, and Niles hopes that Leo won’t notice his rising pulse. “Let’s see...This line, you have a broken life line, which means you’ve lived through some troubling hardships. Which I’d say is an accurate assumption.” His finger touches another line. “The head line, you’re strong and brave despite what you’ve been through. But… the heart line.” A smile finds its way onto Leo’s lips. “You’re a warm and open individual.”_

_“Ghk—!” Niles snatches back his palm, a slight blush glows on his cheeks. “Why… are you doing this?” The flustered feeling he felt coursing in his bloodstream only heightened when Leo responded with a teasing laugh and a rare smile._

_“Because I want to get to know you better. And I want you to trust me.”_

_“Ah…” What was this odd feeling in his chest?_

_“...And I wanted to practice palmistry. But you’ll let me do that again, right?”_

_Prince Leo was odd, but somehow, he was right. And Niles didn’t know what seemed to be stranger: Prince Leo, or the fact that he trusted him._

 

* * *

 

Somehow, Niles finds himself in the library. He runs his fingers along a familiar book, the one with the blue cover and the fading gold accents, and flips through the pages.

“Ugh, there you are,” Leo’s voice rings out from behind him. “Some days I feel like you’re the lord and I’m the retainer, always trying to find where you are.”

Niles closes the book and sets it down. “You found me. What do you need, milord?”

“What do I need?” Leo repeats his words as if he’d just heard something completely ridiculous. “What I need is for you to get yourself ready to leave. We’re heading out soon, and I need you prepared to move.”

He goes, but finds that he can’t focus. The entire march drags on and on and on, and all Niles can think about is that night under the stars, where he’d refused his lord’s advances in a moment of overwhelming regret. No— no, he can’t regret this, he can’t, he’d dedicated his life to keeping Leo safe, but that doesn’t mean he should be romantically involved with—

Ah, ‘ _romantically involved._ ’ In retrospect, he should have known these were his feelings long ago. He doesn’t know where they started, or when they’d manifested and evolved into what they were now. But if there was anything he _did_ know, is that he was—unfortunately—very much in love with Lord Leo, and to finally reach that conclusion, to finally understand the truth for himself, makes the memory of the other night that much harder.

But his lord will move on— _should_ move on—and Niles will be at his side, always. He will watch him grow, watch him rise, watch him wed another, as much as it pains him to come to that realization. Besides, what would he have done, become some royal consort? Niles would never be able to take on a royal title, what with his vile origins as a outlaw nobody, and that kind of person wasn’t fit for court life. He wouldn’t be able to provide an heir, not one of royal blood who could control dragon veins, he would just… be. And Niles knows that’s exactly what he’s doing now. And so he should remain.

And yet—why did it bother him so much? Why did it strain in his chest, weighing down his heart like a heavy burden painfully aching to be released? It felt like it was taking everything in his power to put one foot in front of the other and continue his march beside his lord, and all he wanted to do was sit down by himself and… stop. He wanted this all to stop—he wanted everything to stop and go back to the way it was, before he’d developed these feelings for his lord, before Leo returned them, before…

No, that’s not right. Before his lord, he had nothing. The memories he’d created with his lord, the feelings that flourished within his heart, the thought of Leo smiling—these were what keep him going, fuel his drive to see the dawn of the next day, gives him the strength to keep on living.

And if he had to live quietly beside his lord if he married another, then that is the sacrifice he’d just have to make. For Leo’s future.

Niles is so caught up in his thoughts, he nearly steps into a deep puddle, narrowly avoiding falling face first into the murky water. He also doesn’t notice the glimmer of an arrowhead in the distance until it’s pointed right at Leo—

“Milord— look out! _Look out!_ ” Niles calls out, frantically, but much too late. Leo has enough time to turn his head before an arrow lodges itself into his torso, another in his shoulder, and he’s flung off balance from his horse forcefully, falling in what felt like painful slow motion, eyes wide. Niles desperately tries to sprint towards him with outstretched arms, dropping his bow without another thought. He should have been more careful—he should have seen that sniper, what was he doing that caused him to be so distracted—!

He doesn’t make it. Leo hits the ground with a loud thud, a trail of red blood trickling from his body into the soil from the impact, and Niles lets out a horrified scream as he drops to his knees beside him. “ _Leo!_ ”

His lord is unresponsive, gasping where his fall forced the air from his lungs, fingers clutched around the arrow deep inside his torso. “Don’t move,” Niles manages, frantic, “Don’t move— I’ll get—I’ll get—!” He looks up, terrified, holding Leo in his arms. When he moves his hand, trying to feel for a pulse, it’s covered in blood. “Lady Elise! Felicia! Jakob, please!” he yells, voice cracking, as the ambush surrounds them. Odin is there immediately, taking out the archers with his magic as his allies close in to fight off the rest of the enemy soldiers.

“What happened?!” Odin helps Niles get Leo to safety as the battle rages on behind them. Niles doesn’t answer, heart feeling like it’s about to burst right out of his chest and onto the floor with the way it pounds painfully inside him. He doesn’t look at Odin, clutching onto Leo’s hand as if he’d lose him if he let go.

“I’m sorry,” is all Niles says, and Odin isn’t sure who he’s talking to, but he doesn’t ask.

When it’s all over, Niles and Odin are kicked out of the medical tent. They sit together in silence, neither of them wanting to say a single word until they knew Leo was alright. Niles draws his knees up and rests his arms over them with a sigh. This was his fault, he was to blame, if only he’d been more careful. When he rests his head on his hand, his eyepatch feels damp.

Finally, Odin’s voice breaks the silence. “Lady Elise!” he greets her when she walks out of the tent. “How is our lord?” Niles stands.

Elise sighs, in both exhaustion and relief. “He’s okay. He’s sleeping now.” The two retainers follow suit in the sighs of relief. “Just let him rest, okay? I’ll let you know when he’s awake.”

Several days pass. Several agonizing days drag on by and Niles can’t sleep through any of them. He didn’t even want to try spending his different ways to pass the time—he didn’t want to talk to anyone, and nothing felt right. Odin had gone off to find some solace and comfort with Laslow and Selena, and so the two of them hadn’t spoken much since the ambush.

Everything was quiet, and unnervingly so.

Finally, there’s a knock on his door, with two words he’d been waiting for what felt like an eternity to hear: “He’s awake.”

***

Leo is quiet, fingers tapping the book in his lap, a book with a blue cover and fading, gold accents. He doesn’t say much, and doesn’t look at his retainers when they enter.

“Milord Leo!” Odin greets him, voice hiding his relief. “We were so worried about you, milord!”

“Thank you, Odin,” Leo replies, curtly.

“How is milord feeling?!”

“I’m fine.”

“Is...is everything alright?”

“Yes.” His nails drum a steady rhythm against the book in his lap. Niles doesn’t say anything.

“Would milord like his pillows fluffed? Blankets folded? A heroic tale of the ages to quell his thirst for vengeance?” Odin offers, arm outstretched, but theatrics temporarily placed aside.

“No,” Leo says finally, voice cracked and tired, and he turns to look at his retainers. “Thank you, Odin. But I’d like to speak with Niles for a moment.” He clears his throat. “Alone, please.” He adds, and Odin exchanges a worried glance with Niles, and then bows dramatically.

“As you wish, milord,” Odin says, and when he closes the door behind him, Niles steps forward.

“Yes, milord?” he begins, hesitantly—he waits for Leo to collect his thoughts, but he thinks he knows what’s coming.

“I’ve had enough of this.” Leo’s voice is hurt and angry, and parts of his words shake as he speaks. “This isn’t a game, Niles.”

“I... don’t understand, milord.”

“You know what I mean,” Leo starts before Niles can finish talking. “What were you doing out there in battle the other day?”

“I…”

“What were you thinking of that made you so distant? So unaware of your surroundings? What was going through your head, Niles, what distracted you?”

“You’re right, milord. I wasn’t thinking. I failed to protect you, and you have every right to punish me for it.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Leo’s stare darkens. “What were you thinking of.” The way he speaks sounds more like an order than a question.

“If milord is asking, then I think he knows,” Niles responds, straightening. “I was thinking about you.”

“About what happened the other night, about our argument. Would I be correct in assuming this is true?”

“Yes.”

“Why? You made it clear that this should be over and done with, and then you go back on your word.” Leo reaches out for him, and Niles obediently steps forward enough for Leo to grab the front of his shirt and forcefully drag him closer. “Tell me why, Niles.”

“You know why.”

“But I don’t! You tell me one thing, and then act on another. I told you what I want, and you didn’t agree, so just outright reject me and be done with it already! The faster you say it, the faster I can move on from this.” Niles closes his eye. Leo tightens the grip in his hand. “Don’t shut me out, Niles. ...please.”

“You shouldn’t get so worked up so soon—it’s not good for your health, and you need to recover,” Niles tries to deflect.

Leo shoves Niles away with all the strength he has in his body in his current state. “To hell with my health, I could have died out there waiting for you, does that mean anything to you?”

“It does. You know it does.” Niles looks sad, reflecting on something that seemed to be his greatest regret—and perhaps it was.

“You’d rather string me along waiting for some sort of false hope than let me move on from this?” Leo looks like he’s about to cry from his frustration alone. “Tell me no, Niles! Tell me this isn’t possible so I can prepare myself to spend the rest of my life in some loveless political marriage!” He nearly throws the book to emphasize his point.

Niles bites his lip and steadies himself. “...I’m sorry,” he says. “I can’t.”

Leo returns his gaze with a scowl, but his demeanor calms. When his composure levels out enough and his frustration quells, he begins to speak again. “I am a prince of Nohr. I have attendants and advisors telling me what to do every day. How to dress, how to act, who to meet, who to talk to,” he pauses, swallows, “who to marry.” His fingers tighten around the blanket over his lap. “And I’m tired of my retainer making decisions for me as well.”

Niles shifts, his heart starting to pound in his chest, and he knows why. Leo continues, “I appreciate that you’re trying to look out for me. But I told you, I know what I want. And for once… let me make a decision for my own future.”

Niles doesn’t respond, but he does nod. Perhaps it was time—perhaps he couldn’t avoid it any longer. He’d been running away from his feelings for so long…

Leo looks down, a finger grazing the hard surface of the book. It’s only now that Niles notices the cover: one of Leo’s favorites, the one where the main character becomes a knight after leaving a life as a peasant in the countryside. “You called me Leo.”

Niles picks his head up, distraught. “P-pardon?”

“When I fell,” Leo says quietly, “you called me Leo.”

“...Apologizes, milord,” Niles begins, heat rising to his cheeks in embarrassment. “It won’t happen again.

“No, Niles.” He turns to meet his gaze. “Say it again.”

“Milord?”

“If you truly wish to refuse me, I’ll take this as your answer and leave it here. But… say my name again, so I can hear it in your voice one last time.”

There’s a pause, a long stretch of silence that lingers longer than it should have, and then Niles takes a breath. Leo braces himself for the refusal.

“...Leo,” he says finally, and the way his lips form around the vowels feels foreign, but it carries a warmth that kindles a rising comfort deep inside him. He closes his eye with an exhale. “I love you.”

Leo stills.

“Hold on, what?” Leo lifts his head up, holding his breath so carefully it was as if breathing would ruin the moment. “Niles?”

“My life with you has been more than I could ever ask for. The past few years, I’ve almost forgotten what it was like to be afraid—to be scared—because I had you by my side.” His voice sounds like he’s holding back a stronger emotion—like he’s steadying his voice to appear bigger than he feels. “But when I failed to protect you the other day, at the thought of losing you… I was scared. So scared that maybe I realized I shouldn’t run away from what I have, before it’s gone. What I felt was... a horror, that deep-set realization that my life is worthless, meaningless without you in it.” He shifts before continuing. “And I used to think that was because I owed you my life. That, if anything, I was downplaying my debt to you. I’d dedicated this insignificant life to you, and that’s what gave it some sort of meaning.”

Leo listens, careful and reticent, not wanting to interrupt Niles before his retainer was finished.

“But that isn’t fair. You deserve more than someone like me, but this is all I can give you.” Niles sees Leo’s mouth open, as if he wants to get in a word edgewise, but Niles doesn’t want to let him, and cuts him off before he can even start. “Watching you hit the ground like that so helplessly was when I realized my feelings for you weren’t out of duty or devotion, or some sort of fascination I had with royal life.” He pauses to take a moment. “Realizing that at any point I could lose you made me understand the depths of what it was, what I was feeling. And that was when… that’s when I knew I loved you.”

Leo swallows cautiously, his heart beating loud and strong as he prepares his next few words. “So… what are you saying?”

Niles shifts his weight onto his other leg, looking down at the ground for a moment as he collects his thoughts. “I’m saying I can’t run away from this anymore. From you, and from myself. I’m saying I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I lost you, because you are and always will be the most important person who has ever been a part of my life, rocky as it may be. I’m saying…” He picks his head up to meet Leo’s gaze. “I’m saying yes.”

As if the weighted burden inside himself had lifted off his shoulders at that exact moment, Niles feels better. Free, like he should have done this so long ago.

“Niles,” and Leo’s voice sounds choked and breathless, hearing the words he’d been waiting for all this time. “Niles, I—”

“But,” Niles continues, “I can’t forgive myself for what happened. It was my fault you got hurt, I should have been more careful, I could have seen it coming. And as far as I’m concerned, I’ve failed you as your retainer.”

“Stop that,” Leo frowns, “it doesn’t matter how it happened. What matters is now. What matters is us. We can move on from this.”

“I need time, milord,” Niles says. “I’m saying yes to you now, but I need time.”

“Are you punishing yourself for not being able to protect me?”

“I am your retainer. I failed to do my one job, and now who am I to accept my lord’s feelings so easily? What I have I done to deserve that?”

“Forgive yourself now, Niles,” Leo scowls. “That is an order.”

“An order I must respectfully decline.”

Leo shakes his head, slow and defeated. “Here you are, playing this game again. Must we continue to dance around in circles every time I think we’ve moved forward?”

A slow chuckle lets Leo know that Niles will be alright. “When you recover, I promise we’ll move forward from this. Until then, I want you to focus on your health, and not me.”

Leo leans back in the bed with a sigh. “I’ll hold you to the promise, then.” He extends his hand to wave towards his retainer as an addition to his words. “And the first thing you better do is kiss me! I’ve waited much too long for one!”

“You can hold me to that too, then,” Niles says, with a relieved smile.

When Niles opens the door to leave, Odin all but nearly tumbles into the room from where he was just pressed up against the door to listen. “O-oh! Uh, er, hello, my lovesick comrade! I was just, uh—”

“Leaving, I hope.” Niles says. “That’s not very ‘ _chosen-y_ ’ of you, or is that what all Chosen Ones do, eavesdrop on their liege’s conversations?” He crosses his arms, and Odin scrambles to straighten his posture.

“Of course not! I’m—” Odin freezes, “Er, should I now be addressing you as lord as well…?”

Niles raises his eyebrow, “Oh? Lord Niles, eh? Now that's got a ring to it. Maybe!” he jests, amused at Odin’s response to this situation. “Now that Lord Leo and I are together, does that give me such an appellation? And all Chosen Ones must obey those with such a high status, don’t they?”

“Don’t believe a single thing he says, Odin,” Leo calls out, from inside the room.

Niles laughs.

***

Time passes, and Leo’s convalescence takes less time than anyone expected, to everyone’s relief. A few healers had suggested Leo remain in the sick bay for a little while longer, just in case, but Leo was adamant in leaving, and once Leo’s persistence kicked in, no one wanted to argue with him.

“Niles,” Leo enters his retainer’s room with a proud smile on his face, “Every healer I’ve seen has given me a clean bill of health. I’m finally recovered enough to leave and return to my own life again.”

“I’m glad to hear that, milord,” Niles greets him with a matching smile. Leo walks up to him and crosses his hands behind his back.

“That’s all you have to say?” Leo’s smile wavers, just the slightest bit.

“Of course not. I’m very happy to hear you’re feeling like yourself again.”

“And?”

“And…?”

Leo looks at him expectantly, his lips now pursed in a frown. Niles tries not to laugh.

“I believe I was promised something.”

“Whatever do you mean, milord?” Niles fights the way his lips try to curve into a smile, but Leo sees right through him. He groans in his irritated frustration.

“You’re impossible,” he says, rolling his eyes. “I’m here for my promised reward.” He cranes his neck just to maintain eye contact with his retainer.

“You’ll have to remind me.”

“Kiss me,” he says, bluntly. And now Niles can’t stop the smile from bursting forth on his face.

“Oh?” Niles leans back on his heels, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. “Is that an order?”

“Niles,” Leo inhales sharply, lets his breath go after some time as if to steady himself for his next words, his next actions. “It’s not an order. I told you before — I’m asking you not as your lord but... as…” His voice hesitates, trembles nervously with every word. “As…”

“Still can’t say it, milord?”

Leo frowns, his eye contact wavering in his frustration, “Niles, I’m not going to ask you again,” he says, loudly, and then his voice softens. “This is what I want. If your previous words hold true, if you still want this too, then just—”

He does — cupping his lord’s face with a gentle palm, leaning in to cut him off with a chaste kiss that Leo immediately lengthens with a quick arm wrapping around his retainer’s neck. Leo pulls him closer, never lets him go, and _oh_ , he’s waited so long for this — and it’s like a breath of fresh air, the first sip of cool water on a hot day, like a spark of life renewing the very energy in his body so long as Leo was in his arms.

When they pull away, it’s only for a moment. “Is that what you wanted?” Niles whispers against Leo’s lips, so softly Leo almost doesn’t hear it over the ringing in his ears brought on by the rush of blood to his face.

“Yes,” Leo whispers back, eyes still closed and lips still clinging to the warmth in front of him. He presses his lips against Niles again. “I want more. I want you closer.”

“Has milord ever been kissed before?” Niles’ chuckle is low and playful, and he wraps his arms around Leo’s waist and kisses sweetly at his neck.

“Surely you don’t need to ask to know.”

He leans in again, withholding the tug of smile when Leo returns the motion, pulling him in close and never letting go.

“Do you want this?” Leo asks between kisses, “Do you want to be with me, Niles?”

“I do,” he replies, opening his eye just the slightest, and his words ache with longing and adoration.

“Will you, then?” And he sees Niles hesitate again, his lips faltering in a moment of uncertainty. Leo feels the small sigh against his mouth, breath hot on his skin, and then he’s kissed again, slow and sweet.

“Yes,” Niles says, finally, “If milord will have me, then I will be his.” The way Leo smiles at him in response makes his heart feel like it’s ready to burst — this smile for him, and only for him. For the second time in his life, he feels reborn again, held in his lord’s arms.

And he feels happy.

 

* * *

 

_Leo walks into Niles’ room one night with an extra set of pillows and blankets. “Are you still sleeping on the floor?”_

_Niles, from the floor, looks up at him. “Uh... yes?”_

_Leo tosses what he has in his arms onto the untouched bed. “Tonight, we’re changing that.”_

_“What does milord have in mind?”_

_“Your biggest issue is not knowing who will enter this room, right? Who can stab you in the back or betray you… that sort of thing.”_

_“Well… yes.”_

_“I thought that maybe…” Leo looks as if he’d come up with some grand idea in his head when he was alone that, when it ultimately came down to presenting it to his audience, he felt awkward and sheepish. “If I was here in your room, would that help?”_

_“Here in... what?”_

_“If we shared the bed. You’d have someone beside you to watch your back, and I don’t mind helping you adjust if that’s what it takes to get you off the floor.”_

_Niles is speechless, and for a moment, he considers it. But then he shakes his head. “How could I ask a royal to share a bed with an outlaw commoner?”_

_“You’re not asking, and you’re not an outlaw commoner. I’m offering, and you’re my retainer.”_

_Leo has a point._

_“...If milord wishes to, then I think we can come to a sort of arrangement.”_

_“Great, get in bed, then!” And Niles does, cautiously getting in bed as if he was ready and waiting for Leo to pull some trick on him, something that would indicate this was all just some joke, and that he shouldn’t have agreed. He doesn’t. Leo gets in right after him and settles in beside him, tucking himself into the blankets and resting his head on the pillow. “Are you okay with this?”_

_The bed isn’t very big, so already Niles shoves himself into the corner to avoid touching any part of his lord. “It’s fine.”_

_“Let’s hope you get some sleep then. Good night, Niles.”_

_“Good night, milord.”_

_Oh, what an awkward scene this is. Here is his lord, laying beside him in bed as if they were lovers — admittedly it does make his heart skip a beat at the very thought. He can’t see the satisfied smirk on Leo’s face, but he knows it’s most likely there._

_Still, Niles had never been more relaxed in his life. Something about the way Leo’s warmth carries over to his side of the bed, something about the way Leo’s breathing evens out and quiets as he falls asleep, something about having his lord beside him puts him at ease. He manages to sleep through the night with little interruption, which is a first for him, so he doesn’t complain._

_Leo enters his room again the next night. “Would you still like my company?” he asks, as if he doesn’t expect Niles to say yes._

_“I would like that,” he replies._

_That second night, when Leo’s gentle breaths suggest he’d fallen asleep, Niles slowly turns his head to the side to watch his lord sleep. He stares into the darkness, eyes boring holes into the back of Leo’s head, and in the dim light of the moon from the window, he can just barely make out the steady rise and fall of his lord’s chest. It’s soothing, and he finds himself drifting off soon enough._

_On the fifth night, Niles had made it a routine to watch the back of his lord’s head to lull him to sleep. Leo rolls around at that moment to rest on his other side, and Niles feels his breath catch at the tiniest upward curve of Leo’s lips. A small, peaceful little smile as he sleeps. He wonders what he's dreaming about. Niles doesn’t want to look away._

_On the sixth night, he has a nightmare. He dreams of his death, some sort of broken combination of fragmented memories of his past, and twisted images of being stabbed through, useless and lifted by a blade, and staring at his own blood on his hands. A feeling of falling and gasping for air, desperate and suffocating in a fading light slipping through his fingers. The last look at someone’s terrified face in front of him. The taste of metallic blood on his tongue. The smell of rot and decay. The horribly disfigured man from his past reaching towards him and—_

_He jolts awake, sitting upright in a cold sweat._

_“Niles?” A concerned, sleepy voice whispers from his side. “Niles, are you okay?”_

_Niles barely recognizes that name for a second, has to pause and collect himself and his surroundings, remember who he is, where he is, and how he got there. He takes a breath. “...Yes.” he says, turning to meet Leo’s worried gaze. “Just a nightmare.”_

_Leo wordlessly reaches for him then, placing a hand on his shoulder. The warm weight against his skin is soothing. He lays back down, and Leo wraps a consoling arm around his side._

_“Is this alright?” He asks._

_“Yes, I find it somewhat comforting.”_

_“Don’t tell anyone.”_

_“Of course.”_

 

* * *

 

The seasons change. The humid, rainy weather slowly transitions into colder, shorter nights (much too cold to stargaze, as Niles found the hard way that even in his thickest layers he ended up catching a cold from staying out there too long) as time passes. The first sign of snowfall came in the middle of the night, and Elise made a point to run down the halls excitedly announcing the fluffy new change in weather.

Niles yawns comfortably in Leo’s bed, bundled up under the blankets beside Leo, who is reading beside a dying candle.

“Change out the candle soon, that’s not good for your eyes,” Niles says, and gets a distracted hum in reply. “Leo…”

“Fine, hold on.” Leo flips the page. “It’s getting to the good part.”

Niles sighs and gets up from his warm blanket cocoon to fetch a fresh candle for him, because he knows once Leo is engrossed in a good book, he won’t put it down until he finishes it. He lights the new candle with the weak flame of the first and switches them out. Then he burrows himself back in the blankets and curls up beside his lord, draping an arm around him. “What are you reading?”

“One second.”

Niles whines.

“Oh, _fine_ , in short, it’s a novel about these two characters overcoming whatever obstacles life throws at them so they can finally be together.”

“So it’s another romance novel. You seem to be reading a lot of those lately.”

“Yes— I mean, I told you, I like to read those too sometimes!”

Niles slides up to peek at the book. “What’s good about this part, what are they doing?” Leo snaps the book shut.

“Nothing.” He blushes. “You wouldn’t understand unless you read the rest of it.”

“Look at that cute blush on your face, the book was getting steamy, wasn’t it?” Niles teases, nuzzling his lips into the crook of Leo’s neck.

“They were… getting _intimate_ , I suppose.” And Leo smiles, wrapping his arm around Niles and setting the now-forgotten book to the side. Niles kisses his neck gently, trailing soft touches down Leo’s side, and Leo turns to give Niles his full attention, catching his lips in a sweet kiss.

When they part, Leo regards him with a half-lidded gaze. “Have… you ever thought about… us, in that way?” he begins, slowly, and almost cautiously.

Niles rests his head beside him. “In what way?” he asks as Leo draws circles with his forefinger on Niles’ back.

“In that intimate way. I used to hear those rumors about you, you know. The ones where you ‘ _got around_ ,’ so to speak.” Niles acknowledges Leo’s words with a low grunt. “I’m not accusing you of anything, but I do wonder — you never talk about that around me, so do you ever… think about that with me?”

“I never had any serious intentions with them, my words were empty,” he admits, for the first time ever. “I just didn’t trust getting close to anyone, and it was the only way I knew how to drive them away.” A pause. "Well, the only _fun_ way I knew, anyway." 

“So do you still?”

“I don’t need to anymore,” Niles says, adjusting his head on the pillow. “But to answer your question, yes I do, but only if you want to.”

“I do.”

“Ah.” Oh. Niles didn’t think he’d give him an answer so soon.

“What, you don’t think I’m ready for it?”

“That’s not it.”

“You think it’d ruin me.”

Niles is silent.

“I think it’d do quite the opposite, if it’s you,” he says.

It’s only much later into the night that Niles realized that was just one big set up — Leo had planned the conversation of the night to go towards that subject, and it went just as he thought it would. His lord was too smart, and now Niles had no excuse.

***

“Niles,” Leo greets him one late night with a gentle gaze, a soft touch of hands. “Come to my chambers tonight.”

Niles already knows exactly what he has planned without being told. This was the night, he supposes.

He goes.

Leo is nervous, but he makes up for it with his enthusiasm. Gentle kisses here, careful touches there, as if everything Leo knew about this was through reading. Niles kisses his neck, slow and deliberate, and oh, he could get drunk off the feeling of his lips against the soft skin, intoxicated if he wasn’t careful.

But there is a part of Niles that worries. He hopes Leo isn’t doing this just to satisfy what he thinks he wants.

Niles pins him down. “So, Prince Leo,” he begins, “are you going to just give yourself to me, then? See how an outlaw like me can ravish a prince like you?” Niles shoots him a testing grin, because he needs to put his worries to bed, needs to make sure this is what Leo wants as well.

Leo blinks from underneath him. “What?”

“I have you in such a vulnerable state, I can do anything to you right now.” He stares down at Leo, “Do I scare you, milord?” He’s vaguely reminded of the time he asked Leo a similar question, years ago when he was on his knees covered in blood with a blade in his shoulder.

But Leo wraps an arm around Niles’ shoulder, and cups his cheek with his other hand, pulling him down into a kiss.

“No, you don’t,” he says, finally, when he pulls away, whispering his words against his lips. “Because I trust you.” And Niles backs off, retreats his touch immediately like he knows he’d stepped too far, but Leo is quick to grasp his hands, holds them gently, brings them back to cup his cheeks with warm palms that he leans into. “You tell me that you’re a bad person, that you’re not worthy, but these hands have never hurt me.”

Niles dips down, meets his lord’s soft lips with his own, and when he pulls away he lingers, gaze half-lidded in complete adoration and love. “Because you are the best thing they’ve ever held.”

 ***

With the soft glow of moonlight spilling through the open window beside them, Leo traces soft patterns on Niles’ scarred skin, memorizing each and every one as he undresses, committing them to memory as the pads of his fingertips graze every jagged edge, every smooth raise, every deep curve.

“Promise me you’ll tell me the stories,” he whispers and kisses a scar on Niles’ shoulder blade, the very one left by the blade meant for Leo so many years ago, when they went for a walk on a fateful sunny spring day. “I want to know.” Niles slips their fingers together, palm to palm.

“One day, I will,” Niles says, and Leo kisses him, long and slow, only pulling away to gaze at him, warm and gentle.

Leo is beautiful in the soft brilliance of the moonlight, even the way his gaze settles upon Niles sends his entire being ablaze, every kiss shooting electric shocks fizzing deep in his lizard brain, reverberating down his spine, echoing in his heart, enraptured, like nothing in his life mattered before this moment, before having Leo in his arms like this.

He basks in every breath, every gasp, every shiver, every movement of their skin brushing together, Leo’s nails digging small half-moon indents into his back and his legs around his waist. And Leo is breathtaking, with parted lips and quieted moans against his neck, pleasured whispers of his name gliding off his tongue from the back of his throat, tender kisses and discordant sighs, blossoming love bites against creamy skin beneath him.

And he could crush him, he really could, with calloused hands that have only known pain well before they knew anything close to love. But Leo was the one who saved him from that life, from himself, showed him how to embrace love, and how it could be just as exquisite as pain. Under his lord, he was born anew. Over his lord, in bed, like this, he finds himself in love; truly, completely, feeling whole in the way Leo arches his back against him, intoxicated by the familiar scent of his lord, the sound of his voice like his favorite melody resonating in his mind.

Yes, Zero was dead. But Niles is very much alive, and if there is anything he is certain of in this world, it is his love for his Prince Leo.

The stars beneath his eyelids are far brighter than the ones in the sky.

 

* * *

 

_The loud footsteps of heavy boots jolts him back into focus from where he sits rotting in the damp jail cell. There’s a heavy clanging noise on the metal bars when the guard opens the door, and the thief squints in the intruding brightness, wanting to retreat further into the shadows in instinct._

_“Get up,” the guard says, and he does, if only not to prolong his ultimate demise. The thief is lead down a long hall, nearly dragged by the guards by his arms when he is unable to keep up with their pace, legs too weak and body too fatigued to keep in time with the healthier soldiers._

_The room he’s tossed in is very different from the cold, stone-walled jail. It’s brighter and more open than the last. When another figure enters the room and the rest of the guards bow, the thief assumes this one is a royal._

_“So you’re the one causing all this trouble,” he says. He’s young; a prince, perhaps, with short blond hair that frames his face and a stern expression on his otherwise rounded features. “You’re the one who broke into the castle, right?”_

_The thief sighs. “Yes.”_

_“We found this one by himself,” a guard speaks up. “Must have been abandoned by his gang. The rest of them escaped, but we’ve sent a troop out to search for them.”_

_“A scapegoat, I see,” the prince says, holding what appears to be a tome of some sort of magic in one hand._

_“Not a scapegoat,” the thief responds. “A decoy. I am to blame as much as they are.”_

_The prince hums, understanding the situation. “I suppose I could grant you some honorable way to die. I'll do it myself.”_

_The thief closes his eye. This is how it must be — finally, an end to all of this suffering in this miserable purgatory of a life._

_“Any last words then?” The prince holds out his hand, an aura hovering around it in a spell summoning that already makes the thief’s knees weak._

_He could try to run, if he wanted to. He doesn’t know how far he’d make it, but he could try. He could fight, test his will to survive and fight before an inevitable death. He could try._

_But oh, he is so_ tired _, and he wants it all to end._

_“Kill me.” At first, he isn’t sure if he said it outloud, but the prince seems to react to his words so he figures he must have._

_“What was that?”_

_“Kill me,” he says again, louder, picking up his head with the last of his strength. “I don’t care how you do it. It doesn’t matter. There’s no honorable way to kill a lowlife like me.” The aura around the prince’s hand intensifies, glowing brighter, and the thief keeps his eye fixed on the prince’s gaze, a cold and icy blue boring holes into the prince’s darker ones. “Do it… please,” he manages, “kill me.”_

_He waits, and he watches, the glow of the magic bright in his eye, and he waits for the finishing blow to finally end this wretched existence drawn on for far too long…_

_But the prince doesn’t._

_The magic dims down._

_“What is your name?” he asks instead._

_“What?”_

_“I asked you a question. What is your name?”_

_The thief lowers his head. “I don’t have one.”_

_“Nothing? What were you called in the streets, then? By your comrades?”_

_He pauses. “...Zero. There were those who called me Zero. It’s the closest thing to a name I’ve got.”_

_“Zero…”_

 

* * *

 

Niles wraps his arms around his lord’s waist, noting silently how pleasantly his arm fits around the curve of his lord’s body. Leo curls into him, tired and exhausted, and picks his head up enough to peer out the window.

“It’s snowing again,” he notices, resting his head on Niles’ chest.

“Good, I like the snow.” Now that he could watch the snowfall in the comfort of a warm bed next to Leo, he finds the gentle flurries peaceful and serene, a bright contrast against the dark sky.

Leo picks his head up and kisses his cheek. “Niles,” he begins, and then waits.

“Yes, milord?”

“I love you.”

And Niles turns and kisses him, fingers stroking his face. His cheeks are the softest thing Niles has ever touched; his skin is gentle against the hard callouses that make up Niles’ fingertips. “I love you too, Leo.” He lets out a content exhale, long and fulfilled. “I’ve waited so long for this, I’m never going to let you go.”

Leo curls in closer to him, kissing his forehead. “Then stay with me forever,” Leo says, a loving touch on his arm, a genuine smile.

Niles leans in and smiles against his lips, kissing Leo as if he was responsible for creating the very galaxies themselves. “I am yours, milord. Now, and for all time.”

 

* * *

 

_“Very well,” the prince says, after what looked like contemplation. “I’ve decided not to carry on with the execution. There is no reason for someone like you to die today.”_

_“You’d throw me back on the streets, then?” To die, with the rest of them. If he didn’t die tonight, throwing him back may as well be the same._

_But the prince shakes his head, “No, quite the opposite. From today forth, you will have the honor of being my very first retainer.” He steps forward, extends a hand as the guards behind him look on, moving forward with him in case the thief made any sudden movements. “Rise, Niles. This is no place for you.”_

_“Niles?”_

_“I’m giving you a new life, and a new name to live it with. Does it not suit you?”_

_For the first time in years, he feels the foreign tug of a smile pull at his lips, the rising urge of a low chuckle escaping his throat, perhaps in relief, or amusement. “Niles,” he repeats, and the name tastes warm, sanguine against his tongue._

_“I hope that now you are renewed with some purpose. The first retainer to the second prince of Nohr.” He holds out his hand, outstretched and patient, for Niles to grab it. “I am Prince Leo.”_

_Niles takes his hand, finally, and is helped off the ground and to his feet, legs shaking in a mixture of exhaustion and anticipation. His grasp is warm and inviting, the feeling in his heart like something he wished he’d felt long ago. The thought of a new life, the idea of a fresh start, for a moment he could almost describe this feeling as a rebirth._

_“We’ll have the formal induction ceremony at a later date. There are more important things to take care of first. Let’s get you cleaned up and fed.” The prince flashes a small, encouraging smile. “So, Niles, your first order as my new retainer is to follow.” Leo says, stepping back again. “Welcome to your new home. Your new life.” And when Leo turns to lead him away, Niles watches his back for a moment, finding the strength to obey and accompany his new lord._

_Zero died in that dark, damp stone jail cell by himself. Niles steps forward._

_Behind him, through the tall windows of the castle, the sun begins to rise, iridescent strips of illuminating color against ashen, dark clouds._

_The dawn of a new day._

**Author's Note:**

> if u liked this monstrosity hmu @dancergaius on twitter i love leoniles more than i love myself
> 
> Some fun facts about this fic:  
> 1) The title and original inspiration are from the song [Night Sky by CHVRCHES](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSaOnwl4sFQ), one of my favorites  
> 2) I know I used the Western names for constellations, but just substitute in your head or make up some names for Nohrian ones if you want idk  
> 3) I don't know anything about palmistry, I just googled it and read my own palm for Niles, which turned out eerily fitting.  
> 4) Just in case - the bit with Charlotte and Niles is from their A support, which is a joy to read


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